How to Make Lebanese Garlic Sauce (Toum) That Never Splits

Toum is the white garlic sauce that comes with every chicken shawarma, shish tawook sandwich and plate of grilled chicken in Lebanon. It is an emulsion, like mayonnaise, but with no egg: the garlic itself holds the oil in suspension. Done well it is light, fluffy, sharp and spreadable, and it keeps for weeks in the fridge.

The classic proportions used across Lebanese kitchens are one part garlic to four parts oil, with lemon juice and a little ice water added between the oil. Neutral oil is the standard. Extra virgin olive oil turns bitter when it is blended hard, so if you want olive flavour, use only a small amount of it at the end.

Ingredients

• 120 g (1/2 cup, about 2 large heads) peeled garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 480 ml (2 cups) neutral oil, such as sunflower, canola or grapeseed
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice, cold
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) ice water

Instructions

1. Cut each garlic clove in half lengthwise and pull out any green sprout from the centre. The sprouts make toum bitter and harsh.
2. Put the garlic and salt in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts, scraping down the sides every few pulses, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the garlic is a very fine, almost fluffy paste with no visible pieces.
3. With the processor running, add 2 tablespoons of oil, one teaspoon at a time. Stop and scrape. The paste should start to look whiter and creamier. This first stage is where the emulsion forms, so go slowly.
4. Keep the machine running and add the oil in a very thin stream, about the thickness of a needle. After roughly 120 ml (1/2 cup) of oil, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
5. Continue the same pattern: about 120 ml (1/2 cup) oil, then 1 tablespoon lemon juice, then a tablespoon of ice water. Repeat until all the oil, lemon and water are used. The whole process should take 10 to 15 minutes.
6. The finished toum should be thick, bright white and fluffy, holding stiff peaks like whipped egg whites. If it looks loose, keep processing for another minute.
7. Spoon it into a clean glass jar and cover with a lid or a piece of paper towel for the first few hours (some steam and gas escape as it rests). Refrigerate overnight before using. The sharpness mellows after a day.

Tips for the best toum

• If the sauce splits and turns liquid, do not throw it away. Blend 2 or 3 fresh garlic cloves with a pinch of salt into a paste in a clean processor, then slowly add the split sauce back in, a spoon at a time.
• Use a small or medium food processor. In a very large bowl, the blade cannot reach a small amount of garlic.
• Keep the lemon juice and water cold. Heat from the motor can break the emulsion.
• An immersion blender in a tall narrow jar also works, though the texture is slightly denser.

How to serve and store

Spread toum on bread for shawarma and tawook wraps, serve it with grilled or roast chicken, spoon it over batata harra or fries, or add a teaspoon to a marinade. Store it in a covered glass jar in the fridge for up to 4 weeks; it is at its best in the first two. Always use a clean spoon. If it ever smells off or changes colour, throw it out.

Variations

For a milder sauce often served with fries, whisk 2 tablespoons of toum into 120 g (1/2 cup) of thick yogurt or labneh. Some restaurants add a spoon of cornstarch slurry (cooked and cooled) to stabilise large batches, but the method above does not need it. For extra garlic intensity, increase the garlic to 150 g and keep the same oil.

Toum is only as good as the garlic, so buy plump, firm heads. If you want to taste the Beirut standard before making your own, Malak al Tawouk serves it with every sandwich, and Barbar in Hamra is where many Beirutis get their late-night shawarma and toum.

Frequently Asked Questions