Toum

Salsat toum
A bowl of salsat toum with a pestle
Region or stateMiddle East
Main ingredientsGarlic
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Salsat toum (Arabic for 'garlic sauce'), also known as toumiya (Arabic: ثومية) or simply toum (ثوم  'garlic'), is a garlic sauce common to the Levant. It is similar to the Provençal aioli. There are many variations; a common one contains garlic, salt, olive oil or vegetable oil, and lemon juice, traditionally crushed together using a wooden mortar and pestle. There is also a popular variation in Lebanon where mint is added; it is called zeit wa toum ('oil and garlic').

Salsat toum is used as a dip, especially with french fries, chicken, and artichoke, and in Levantine sandwiches, especially those containing chicken. It is also commonly served with grilled chicken dishes, and can be served with almost any meat dish.

Etymology

Toum means "garlic" in Arabic (ثوم  ṯūm). The sauce goes by many names in Arabic, including, in addition to the above: مثومة (muṯawama) and ثومية (ṯūmiyya).

19th-century Orientalist Reinhart Dozy described muthawwamah (مثومة) as a "white sauce made from garlic and cheese" in his 1881 dictionary titled Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes.

Preparation

Toum is traditionally prepared with a mortar and pestle, but food processors are often used instead. In its most basic form, toum is made from three ingredients: fresh garlic, table salt, and a neutral oil.

To make toum, the garlic is ground until it turns into paste and oil is slowly streamed into the mix. The mixture is pulsed until it emulsifies, with lemon juice or other ingredients often added to help with the emulsion.

Toum is traditionally vegan as it contains no eggs, but contemporary non-vegan varieties exist.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sahaj108. "Toum". Allrecipes.com. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Saad Fayed. "Toum Lebanese Dipping Sauce - Recipe". The Spruce Eats. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "ثُوم" [garlic]. WordReference (in Arabic and English). Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  4. 1 2 "مهيدات: فحص فوري للكشف عن استخدام البيض ومشتقاته في مثومة الشاورما - Alghad" [Instant test for detecting the use of eggs and egg-based products in muthawama shawarma dressing]. Alghad (in Arabic). 11 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "تصيبك بـ 7 أمراض.. تعرف على أضرار تناول الثومية". Sada El-Balad (in Arabic). 29 December 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  6. ↑ Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1881). Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes (in French). E.J.Brill. p. 167. Retrieved 22 December 2025. une sorte de sauce blanche faite avec des aulx et du fromage [a kind of white sauce made with garlic and cheese]
  7. 1 2 3 "Recipe: Lebanese Garlic Sauce (Toum)". PBS SoCal. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  8. 1 2 Baraghani, Andy (5 February 2018). "Toum Is The Extra Garlicky Yogurt Sauce I've Loved All My Life". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  9. ↑ Abood, Maureen. "How To Make Toum, the Lebanese Garlic Sauce You'll Want to Eat on Everything". Kitchn. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  10. ↑ Clark, Christina (17 April 2025). "Food Focus: Where to Get Toum in Metro Detroit". Hour Detroit Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2026.