Lebanese Garlic Paste [General]
2014 Sep 7
It's easier said than done . . . the emulsion didn't break (separate), but it didn't form at thick paste. I went back and read the guide again, and it said don't use avacado oil . . . ugh, that's what I did . . . but it also said if it's not thick enough that adding potato can salvage it. So I added instant mashed potato flakes and got it to thicken. It still tastes like garlic, so I'm going to use it. :-)
2014 Sep 8
The article said lecithin can be used without altering the taste.
Also, egg whites, but they do change the taste.
Now liquid lecithin can be bought at bulk barn, but be prepared - it's the stickiest stuff on earth and if a spoon touches it you will never get it off the spoon. The only solution is to throw the spoon away :-)
Lecithin granules you can get to dissolve in water with a stick blender, but it takes time.
Also, egg whites, but they do change the taste.
Now liquid lecithin can be bought at bulk barn, but be prepared - it's the stickiest stuff on earth and if a spoon touches it you will never get it off the spoon. The only solution is to throw the spoon away :-)
Lecithin granules you can get to dissolve in water with a stick blender, but it takes time.
2014 Sep 8
Now you're exaggerating about liquid lecithin, Francis. I've been using it for years and have never thrown out a utensil. Not gonna start now.
I like a nice thick garlic sauce with lots of flavour like this tasty sauce from the owner of Arz:
Garlic Sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced or mashed in a mortar
1 medium potato, cooked
1 cup mayonnaise
olive oil
Mash garlic with the still warm potato (or use a potato ricer). Let cool. Add the mayo. Add enough olive oil to achieve the consistency of a thick, spreadable sauce. Mix by hand, preferably; don't use a food processor.
You gotta have serious love for garlic to slather this on homemade shawarma, gyros, falafel, burgers, etc. mmmmmmmm good!
I like a nice thick garlic sauce with lots of flavour like this tasty sauce from the owner of Arz:
Garlic Sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced or mashed in a mortar
1 medium potato, cooked
1 cup mayonnaise
olive oil
Mash garlic with the still warm potato (or use a potato ricer). Let cool. Add the mayo. Add enough olive oil to achieve the consistency of a thick, spreadable sauce. Mix by hand, preferably; don't use a food processor.
You gotta have serious love for garlic to slather this on homemade shawarma, gyros, falafel, burgers, etc. mmmmmmmm good!
2014 Sep 11
I ended up tossing my mashed potato flakes and garlic avacado oil emulsion. Neither the right consistency, color, or flavor.
I tried just putting a lot of diced garlic into mayo, or miracle whip, and blending it. It's not bad actually, but it's not the stuff from Shawarma places.
I could just buy it of course, but now it's a challenge :-) Got to solve it.
I tried just putting a lot of diced garlic into mayo, or miracle whip, and blending it. It's not bad actually, but it's not the stuff from Shawarma places.
I could just buy it of course, but now it's a challenge :-) Got to solve it.
2014 Dec 13
After much trial and error I have finally mastered it :-)
1. My new age blender is blender is way too powerful. Not only won't it emulsify, if you put in garlic paste it will break the emulsion and turn it back to a liquid . . . unless you put in an egg white first, whip it, then turn it down to the lowest speed and slowly drizzle in your broken paste, in which case, if you are lucky, the emulsion will reform.
2. The magic bullet works better, but after the emulsion forms it's not powerful enough to turn it over the entire mix and bring in new oil properly.
3. Stick blender - works every time.
Try this recipe, it works !
yumbomcgillicutty.blogspot.ca
1. My new age blender is blender is way too powerful. Not only won't it emulsify, if you put in garlic paste it will break the emulsion and turn it back to a liquid . . . unless you put in an egg white first, whip it, then turn it down to the lowest speed and slowly drizzle in your broken paste, in which case, if you are lucky, the emulsion will reform.
2. The magic bullet works better, but after the emulsion forms it's not powerful enough to turn it over the entire mix and bring in new oil properly.
3. Stick blender - works every time.
Try this recipe, it works !
yumbomcgillicutty.blogspot.ca
2014 Dec 14
What I would like to do now, since I can make it (and eat it) at will, is make it healthier.
Oil is a big part of it, so I think using a monounsaturated oil like canola or sunflower oil should be optimum. Does anyone else have suggestions?
The egg white isn't vegan, but it's not too bad (it's not the yolk). But according to this mayonnaise post, it should be possible to use a pinch of lecithin granules in place of the egg white.
www.seriouseats.com
Other thoughts: make it saltier and use more garlic, then you can get the same intensity of garlic flavor (and saltiness) with a thinner spread of it, which would mean eating less oil overall, so maybe healthier.
I do eat a lot of this. It doesn't give me garlic breath either, as the store bought one does. I wonder why?
p.s. I do not use minced garlic, I use fresh cloves. I put them in a small pot with a lid and shake it like crazy, then I take out the peeled garlic pieces and leaves. I repeat with the remaining cloves until they are all peeled.
Oil is a big part of it, so I think using a monounsaturated oil like canola or sunflower oil should be optimum. Does anyone else have suggestions?
The egg white isn't vegan, but it's not too bad (it's not the yolk). But according to this mayonnaise post, it should be possible to use a pinch of lecithin granules in place of the egg white.
www.seriouseats.com
Other thoughts: make it saltier and use more garlic, then you can get the same intensity of garlic flavor (and saltiness) with a thinner spread of it, which would mean eating less oil overall, so maybe healthier.
I do eat a lot of this. It doesn't give me garlic breath either, as the store bought one does. I wonder why?
p.s. I do not use minced garlic, I use fresh cloves. I put them in a small pot with a lid and shake it like crazy, then I take out the peeled garlic pieces and leaves. I repeat with the remaining cloves until they are all peeled.
2014 Dec 14
Just a point on peeling garlic that way ... you can do dozens of cloves at a time just need two stainless steel bowls of appropriate size.
One place I worked at, it was kind of an unofficial challenge to see who could do the most at the same time. Trick was you could only open the bowls once, everything had to be peeled or it didn't count. No extra items added, just garlic
If you use huge bowls you can do 10 dozen or more cloves but you really gotta bash it about... timing determined the champ and weak arms led to lots of DQs!
One place I worked at, it was kind of an unofficial challenge to see who could do the most at the same time. Trick was you could only open the bowls once, everything had to be peeled or it didn't count. No extra items added, just garlic
If you use huge bowls you can do 10 dozen or more cloves but you really gotta bash it about... timing determined the champ and weak arms led to lots of DQs!
2014 Dec 17
Use the light-flavoured olive oil and it's super healthy!
I know this is counter to our nutritional "education" of the last few decades, but reducing fat rarely makes things healthier. Fat = satiation, and healthy fats like olive oil are great all around, especially in a condiment like this. :)
I know this is counter to our nutritional "education" of the last few decades, but reducing fat rarely makes things healthier. Fat = satiation, and healthy fats like olive oil are great all around, especially in a condiment like this. :)
2014 Dec 18
Yeah I think people who are avoiding fat in their diet really need to update their knowledge of human nutrition.
In fact there is even a growing body of evidence that some of the previously thought "good oils" like those derived from grainseed are not very good, and previously thought "bad oils" like animal fats are actually good.
Olive oil is considered healthy on both the new and old lists.
In fact there is even a growing body of evidence that some of the previously thought "good oils" like those derived from grainseed are not very good, and previously thought "bad oils" like animal fats are actually good.
Olive oil is considered healthy on both the new and old lists.
2014 Dec 20
Much like making mayonnaise . . . .
www.theguardian.com
I wonder what effect the amount of salt has on the emulsion? I read some posts that say you can break and emulsion with salt, and others that it's beneficial for getting an emulsion to form.
I happy with the performance of egg white. I did pick up some lecithin granules and will add a pinch to my next batch.
I made a mason jar of toum and the was negligible separation of oil after two weeks, just with the egg white.
I won't go as far as using yolks.
Zym, is canola oil healthy on both lists ? It feels healthy to me, and it makes a very nice looking, snow white, toum.
www.theguardian.com
I wonder what effect the amount of salt has on the emulsion? I read some posts that say you can break and emulsion with salt, and others that it's beneficial for getting an emulsion to form.
I happy with the performance of egg white. I did pick up some lecithin granules and will add a pinch to my next batch.
I made a mason jar of toum and the was negligible separation of oil after two weeks, just with the egg white.
I won't go as far as using yolks.
Zym, is canola oil healthy on both lists ? It feels healthy to me, and it makes a very nice looking, snow white, toum.
2014 Dec 20
I really like the science based information on www.nutritionfacts.org.
So . . . he says fats helps us to absorb the nutrients from vegetables, because a lot of nutrients are fat soluble. Fat itself is just empty calories though. Anyway toum is condiment (though I spread it pretty liberally).
So . . . he says fats helps us to absorb the nutrients from vegetables, because a lot of nutrients are fat soluble. Fat itself is just empty calories though. Anyway toum is condiment (though I spread it pretty liberally).
2014 Dec 23
Thanks for the new link Francis!
We had tried the link you posted back in August. That process worked the first time but nearly wiped out our food processor, the VERY slow drizzle of oil was hard on the machine. We tried it a second time but added the oil at a quicker pace....didn't turn out.
The new link you posted with the immersion blender and egg worked perfectly and less time consuming. Much appreciated!
We buy garlic paste from Shawarma Palace every week, it's much better being able to make it yourself, we love it on everything.
We had tried the link you posted back in August. That process worked the first time but nearly wiped out our food processor, the VERY slow drizzle of oil was hard on the machine. We tried it a second time but added the oil at a quicker pace....didn't turn out.
The new link you posted with the immersion blender and egg worked perfectly and less time consuming. Much appreciated!
We buy garlic paste from Shawarma Palace every week, it's much better being able to make it yourself, we love it on everything.
2014 Dec 23
The only food more versatile is "green eggs and ham".
Seriously, I've put toum in congee and in soups. Awesome.
The stick blender method is fast and easy. You know right away when it's working because the motor labours. Yes, it can probably destroy a food processor. I can't imagine making it by muscle power.
So . . . I tried lecithin. I wanted to get rid of the egg white, so I tried cornstarch (mixed with water and heated in the microwave), and lecithin - FAIL ! Didn't emulsify and when I put it in the fridge it separated.
Next I tried egg white and lecithin. Also a FAIL. Huh? But why? (However it was still a nice creamy sauce, which did not separate in the fridge, so I used it in congee and other food.)
So . . . I went back to my egg white, salt, garlic, lemon juice, and canola oil with the stick blender and it worked just like always.
Not an exhaustive experiment by any means, but lecithin may not help with toum.
From what I've been reading about emulsions, there are two parts to them, the continuous part and the dispersed part. People on the food blogs all assume with toum the continuous part is the water and the dispersed part is the oil, but considering the ratios, I believe the continuous part is the oil and the dispersed part the water. For emulsions of this type, lecithin may not help at all. It would have to encapsulate water droplets, not oil droplets. Perhaps the shape of the lecithin molecule is wrong to do this, but works fine for encapsulating oil droplets. Just guessing. Also other emulsions call for egg yolk, but toum works with egg white. (To be honest, I haven't tried egg yolk, because I don't want the cholesterol). So perhaps it is a reversed emulsion.
Seriously, I've put toum in congee and in soups. Awesome.
The stick blender method is fast and easy. You know right away when it's working because the motor labours. Yes, it can probably destroy a food processor. I can't imagine making it by muscle power.
So . . . I tried lecithin. I wanted to get rid of the egg white, so I tried cornstarch (mixed with water and heated in the microwave), and lecithin - FAIL ! Didn't emulsify and when I put it in the fridge it separated.
Next I tried egg white and lecithin. Also a FAIL. Huh? But why? (However it was still a nice creamy sauce, which did not separate in the fridge, so I used it in congee and other food.)
So . . . I went back to my egg white, salt, garlic, lemon juice, and canola oil with the stick blender and it worked just like always.
Not an exhaustive experiment by any means, but lecithin may not help with toum.
From what I've been reading about emulsions, there are two parts to them, the continuous part and the dispersed part. People on the food blogs all assume with toum the continuous part is the water and the dispersed part is the oil, but considering the ratios, I believe the continuous part is the oil and the dispersed part the water. For emulsions of this type, lecithin may not help at all. It would have to encapsulate water droplets, not oil droplets. Perhaps the shape of the lecithin molecule is wrong to do this, but works fine for encapsulating oil droplets. Just guessing. Also other emulsions call for egg yolk, but toum works with egg white. (To be honest, I haven't tried egg yolk, because I don't want the cholesterol). So perhaps it is a reversed emulsion.
2014 Dec 24
Just a comment on your mention of cholesterol, Francis. Current knowledge downplays any link between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol. Eggs are no longer blacklisted.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a healthy dude can eat 7 eggs per day. Now that's an ome-LOT! :) www.webmd.com
According to the Mayo Clinic, a healthy dude can eat 7 eggs per day. Now that's an ome-LOT! :) www.webmd.com
2014 Dec 24
Other research shows that cholesterol is a sign of a problem - usually in your diet - and is actually produced by your body to help address the problem. So some of these meds that lower cholesterol may actually be doing more harm than good. It is like studying house fires and concluding that every time you see a house fire, you see these pesky firemen show up. So the solution to the problem of house fires must be to shoot the firemen when they show up.
2015 Jan 1
Interesting discovery about Toum today . . . you can fry it.
I wanted to make a stir fry with sprouts and Chinese greens and I thought, instead of heating oil and garlic I could put in a dollup of toum and the oil would render out. It didn't, because of the egg white I guess, it held together and I could brown it. Now eventually the oil does render out, but not for a long long while.
On the other hand, the garlic flavor was not there with the same intensity as when I just heat diced garlic in the oil (with diced ginger) for the stir fry.
I wanted to make a stir fry with sprouts and Chinese greens and I thought, instead of heating oil and garlic I could put in a dollup of toum and the oil would render out. It didn't, because of the egg white I guess, it held together and I could brown it. Now eventually the oil does render out, but not for a long long while.
On the other hand, the garlic flavor was not there with the same intensity as when I just heat diced garlic in the oil (with diced ginger) for the stir fry.
2016 Mar 20
It worked with chick pea water first try. And it makes a superior toum to egg whites. It's has more garlic flavor and a creamier texture.
Made the best galic toum ever with aquafaba:
1. peel a whole head of garlic (or 1 1/2 heads) - the whole thing, not just one clove.
2. put garlic in a quart jar with 1 1/4 tbsp salt (I used a jar from costco that had artichokes I think).
3. add some aquafaba water from the can of chickpeas (I put enough to cover the garlic, but this was my first try so other amounts may work better or worse).
4. use a stick blender to blend thoroughly
5. fill the remainder of the jar about 2/3 will canola oil, then with the head of the stick blender on the bottom, start blending until the emulsion forms, then very slowly work the head of the blender higher until everything is emulsion
6. next add in the juice of 1 lemon and more canola oil to the neck of the jar.
7. continue working the emulsion until you have a full jar of toum
8. store in the fridge with some cling wrap over the top
9. Taste and texture is superior to toum made with egg whites - more garlic flavor and creamier texture.
Made the best galic toum ever with aquafaba:
1. peel a whole head of garlic (or 1 1/2 heads) - the whole thing, not just one clove.
2. put garlic in a quart jar with 1 1/4 tbsp salt (I used a jar from costco that had artichokes I think).
3. add some aquafaba water from the can of chickpeas (I put enough to cover the garlic, but this was my first try so other amounts may work better or worse).
4. use a stick blender to blend thoroughly
5. fill the remainder of the jar about 2/3 will canola oil, then with the head of the stick blender on the bottom, start blending until the emulsion forms, then very slowly work the head of the blender higher until everything is emulsion
6. next add in the juice of 1 lemon and more canola oil to the neck of the jar.
7. continue working the emulsion until you have a full jar of toum
8. store in the fridge with some cling wrap over the top
9. Taste and texture is superior to toum made with egg whites - more garlic flavor and creamier texture.
Francis
www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com