Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Toum or thoum is a garlic sauce used in Lebanon. The method below is the traditional way toum is prepared in most parts of Lebanon.
Ingredients
- 10–40 g fresh, peeled garlic (less for a milder thoum, more for a stronger one)
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced and strained
- ¼–½ tsp salt
Ingredients for 8 servings (235 g) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
Use a pestle (traditionally wooden) to smash the garlic with salt until very smooth; you can add the salt at the beginning or after the garlic is well smashed.
- 2
Gradually mix in the oil—start by adding one drop at a time and stirring the oil into the garlic with the pestle. After you've added about 1 tbsp of oil and it's been well incorporated, you can drizzle the oil in rather than adding it drop by drop. After half of the oil is added, alternate a bit of lemon juice with a bit of oil. Don't stop for long while mixing; it's necessary to keep stirring, stopping only for very brief periods. When finished the toum will have a similar consistency to thick mayonnaise.
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
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