Aioli: A Sauce to Master!
Have noticed the increased fascination with aioli in the last couple years? This creamy condiment is a popular alternative to mayonnaise. And rightly so. The taste is divine—deeper than mayonnaise.
Although aioli and mayonnaise are both creamy emulsions, aioli is made from garlic and olive oil while mayo is made from egg yolks and canola oil. The final result may look similar but the two sauces have distinctly different flavors.
Aioli, meaning “garlic oil” in Catalan, is made by emulsifying mashed garlic with extra virgin olive oil, typically with a mortar and pestle. It’s often used in French cooking.
Emulsification is the process of combining two ingredients that typically cannot mix, such as oil and water. In terms of aioli, as the oil is whipped or mashed, the oil particles break down and spread evenly throughout the mixture, resulting in a creamy and blended texture.
To traditionally make aioli, start with LOTS of garlic cloves. Pound these into a paste using a traditional mortar and pestle. Next, add your extra virgin olive oil in slowly. You want to constantly stir while you’re mashing it all into a lovely paste.
Egg yolks, bread, or lemon juice may often be added to enhance the creaminess of the mixture. The aioli sauce is mixed until it is pale and creamy.
Like mayonnaise, aioli has lots of uses. For instance:
The confusion between mayonnaise and aioli comes from the way the word “aioli” is used today. In many restaurants, any type of flavored mayo, especially garlic mayo, will be labeled as garlic aioli (aka in the industry as “cheater aioli”). Most restaurants and bars will not carry traditional aioli because of how labor intensive it is to make and how easily the emulsion can split. So, if you ever get a dish with true aioli, count yourself very blessed!
Intensive or not, it’s worth it. And without a doubt, the best way to make aioli is with a mortar and pestle. Only with this tool will the necessary aromas and oils from the garlic be extracted without compromising the final product. These oils will later help emulsify the sauce when adding your olive oil drop by drop until you reach that perfect creamy texture.
This said, I’ll close with a recipe for an authentic aioli recipe from that “Guy from Naples” (www.thatguyfromnaples.com). He says, “For those of you who are conscious eaters, this ingredient combination makes a perfect, natural antibiotic due to the garlic, a powerful antioxidant due to the EVOO, and a great source of minerals because of the sea salt.”
Two for the price of one, then: an incredible condiment that also helps keep the immune system strong! This makes aioli even more desirable! Bravo! This is truly a sauce to master.
4 to 5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
Directions:
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Although aioli and mayonnaise are both creamy emulsions, aioli is made from garlic and olive oil while mayo is made from egg yolks and canola oil. The final result may look similar but the two sauces have distinctly different flavors.
Aioli, meaning “garlic oil” in Catalan, is made by emulsifying mashed garlic with extra virgin olive oil, typically with a mortar and pestle. It’s often used in French cooking.
Emulsification is the process of combining two ingredients that typically cannot mix, such as oil and water. In terms of aioli, as the oil is whipped or mashed, the oil particles break down and spread evenly throughout the mixture, resulting in a creamy and blended texture.
To traditionally make aioli, start with LOTS of garlic cloves. Pound these into a paste using a traditional mortar and pestle. Next, add your extra virgin olive oil in slowly. You want to constantly stir while you’re mashing it all into a lovely paste.
Egg yolks, bread, or lemon juice may often be added to enhance the creaminess of the mixture. The aioli sauce is mixed until it is pale and creamy.
Like mayonnaise, aioli has lots of uses. For instance:
- Dip for vegetables
- Sauce for shellfish
- Over grilled lamb
- Sandwich spread
- With escargot
The confusion between mayonnaise and aioli comes from the way the word “aioli” is used today. In many restaurants, any type of flavored mayo, especially garlic mayo, will be labeled as garlic aioli (aka in the industry as “cheater aioli”). Most restaurants and bars will not carry traditional aioli because of how labor intensive it is to make and how easily the emulsion can split. So, if you ever get a dish with true aioli, count yourself very blessed!
Intensive or not, it’s worth it. And without a doubt, the best way to make aioli is with a mortar and pestle. Only with this tool will the necessary aromas and oils from the garlic be extracted without compromising the final product. These oils will later help emulsify the sauce when adding your olive oil drop by drop until you reach that perfect creamy texture.
This said, I’ll close with a recipe for an authentic aioli recipe from that “Guy from Naples” (www.thatguyfromnaples.com). He says, “For those of you who are conscious eaters, this ingredient combination makes a perfect, natural antibiotic due to the garlic, a powerful antioxidant due to the EVOO, and a great source of minerals because of the sea salt.”
Two for the price of one, then: an incredible condiment that also helps keep the immune system strong! This makes aioli even more desirable! Bravo! This is truly a sauce to master.
Traditional Aioli
Ingredients:
4 to 5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
Directions:
1. Peel the garlic, cut them in half and remove the core. Start to pound it until you reach a rough paste.
2. Add a pinch of salt and continue in your pounding until you get a soft paste.
3. Add the olive oil drop by drop while rotating your pestle in a way that the garlic paste will absorb the oil slowly and gently. Take your time; the more love you give to it the more love you will receive while eating it.
4. When you reach a creamy, soft texture…your job is done!
2. Add a pinch of salt and continue in your pounding until you get a soft paste.
3. Add the olive oil drop by drop while rotating your pestle in a way that the garlic paste will absorb the oil slowly and gently. Take your time; the more love you give to it the more love you will receive while eating it.
4. When you reach a creamy, soft texture…your job is done!
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
