toum

noun

ˈtüm 

: a sauce of Levantine origin made chiefly of oil whipped with garlic, salt, and lemon juice and used especially as a condiment, dip, or spread in Middle Eastern cuisine

Toum delivers the silkiness of aioli freed from the heaviness of egg yolk.

—Reem Assil

… toum, the soft, whipped garlic spread that is good on just about anything.

—Ian McNulty

… the large couscous pearls coated in the garlicky Lebanese toum are scrumptious.

—Jon Palmer Claridge

The jumbo wrap comes stuffed not only with fried falafel, but also fried eggplant … and tahini sauce. Be sure to get an extra side of garlicky toum to drizzle on between bites.

—Felicia Campbell

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, borrowed from Arabic thūm "garlic, sauce made from garlic"

First Known Use

1999, in the meaning defined above