Toum AKA "Garlic Frosting" + Emulsification Tips

I'll be honest: this was made as an after-thought for one of my best friend's birthday dinners. D was spicing the meatballs and I realized that I wanted them to be a little bit more fancy. Toum, I declared!

"What's toum?"

Garlic deliciousness.

"Daddy doesn't like garlic that much. His inner vampire gets upset."

Too bad! Help me peel these cloves, please.

"All of those?!? Daddy really isn't going to be happy."

Yes, all of them.

"That's a lot of garlic."

When we served this with the meatballs, Pia called it "garlic frosting." I love it! That's my kinda frosting.

Emulsification Tips

When I posted the photo, a friend commented that he was looking forward to my tips as the one time he tried, he lost the emulsification. Okay. Got it. Tips. Hmmm...

There are definitely some things I do to ensure success as much as possible.

It's important to make sure that everything is dry. Even a drop of water can prevent emulsification.
Add the oil or lemon juice very slowly. The oil should be poured in a very slow, thin stream, especially in the beginning. Don't rush this! The entire process should take about about 15 minutes to pour in 3 C of oil.
I have tried this with olive oil and it's too heavy. I use avocado or canola oil.
And, in the event that the mixture breaks, stop adding oil. Pulse until it comes together, then start pouring oil in slowly again.
Oh, and alternate between lemon juice and oil.

I hope these tips help.

Ingredients

1 C garlic cloves, peeled (approximately 30 cloves)
1 t salt
3 C oil (I use avocado or canola oil)
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 1 lemon)

Procedure

Place the garlic and salt in the bowl of a dry and clean food processor. Begin pulsing, then puree until smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides every so often.

When the garlic is pureed, turn the processor on to low and drizzle 1/2 C oil through the chute in a thin stream. Pour in 1 t lemon juice. The mixture should start to thicken.

Alternate between 1/2 C oil and 1 t lemon juice, waiting a few seconds between additions to give the liquid time to absorb. I wrote it above, but it bears repeating: Do not rush this process.

The toum is done when it's thick, light, and fluffy. You can store this in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to a week. Enjoy!

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