(By Richard Cornish/Goodfood) I read recently somewhere that allioli was a sauce from Provence. I always thought it was Catalan. M.Brun
It’s amazing how fiercely one can defend a national dish. Take our magnificent pavlova: For years those devious Kiwis have been trying to claim it as their own using all sorts of clandestine methods such as facts and original documents to desperately try to prove it was first made there in the 1920s.
Allioli goes back even further. It’s from a family of oil and garlic-based-emulsion sauces found around the Mediterranean rim. Pliny the Elder, based in Roman Tarragona in the first century AD, observed a sauce made only with garlic, oil and a little vinegar. Tarragona sits in the south of Catalonia.
Allioli, pronounced ah-ee-ohlee, is a Catalan emulsion sauce made with pounded garlic, olive oil and a little salt. That’s it. In his authoritative book Catalan Cuisine Colman Andrews quotes an old Catalan saying, “allioli made with egg is just fancy mayonnaise”. In greater Spain it is called alioli (ah-lee-ohlee) and is often made with egg. Aioli is another garlic and oil emulsion sauce from Provence in France. This velvety garlic mayonnaise is emulsified with raw egg yolk and is famously napped over morsels of fish in the fish stew bourride.
Depends on where you are. If you’re in the US, NZ, Britain, Canada, Japan, and South Korea, then a tablespoon holds three teaspoons or 15 millilitres. In Australia, a tablespoon holds 20 millilitres or four teaspoons.
According to the National Measurement Institute, there is no regulation that controls the size of tablespoons in Australia and some measuring spoon sets on sale in supermarkets have tablespoons that can hold just 15 millilitres.
It seems the difference arose around the time of metrification with the rest of the world agreeing to use a 15 millilitre standard measurement and Australia using the older and larger measurement. This difference is important to remember when using cookbooks published overseas.
Why is it better to use a metal spoon to fold beaten egg whites into a pudding mixture? J. Storey
Using a stainless steel spoon to fold whipped egg whites into a mixture is best for a variety of reasons. Wooden spoons may have some fat embedded between the wood fibres. Fat is the natural enemy of forming peaks with whipped egg whites. Stainless steel spoons can slide edge-first into the mixture without breaking the little air bubbles in the whites and then lift up the other ingredients through the whites using the bowl of the spoon. Aluminium spoons and bowls are not recommended as they can discolour the whites.
On 9N the Catalans ought to have a say on their aspirations as a country. To this moment, however, it is still uncertain whether the Spanish authorities would act to stop Catalonia citizens from expressing their opinion on the heated issue of their relationship with Spain.
Sadly, the Spanish administration and the Spain’s two major parties view on the ‘right to decide’ has been radically opposed to the sensible approach of the UK government to Scotland’s referendum. A political mistake that represents only the last episode of the long lasting decay of the Spanish democracy…
Both are used to describe a Mediterranean sauce or dip that originated in Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain, and across the border on the French Mediterranean coast. The term ‘aioli’ is more commonly used in French and English, while ‘alioli’ is also used in Spanish and Catalan.
I can’t believe today is the feast of the Epiphany, Three Kings Day, and I am making allioli while watching the Three Kings Parade on Spanish television. But these are Matthew’s last few days at home before he returns to college, and he wants to have homey, special dishes before he leaves, like the seafood paella I’ll be making later. Besides, let’s face it, as big a holiday as Three Kings is in Spain, with children receiving the visit tonight of their majesties kings Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar with their presents, we don’t celebrate Three Kings Day in the United States. At our house in Fort Wayne, the celebration depends on the calendar: if January 6 falls on a weekend, we celebrate with roscón (the typical sweet eaten on this day). If it falls during the week, and school is in session, the feast is smaller. The Three Kings, however, stop at our house every year.
My earliest memory of allioli is the of my grandma making circles with a pestle in her marble mortar with one hand while, with her other hand, pouring her home-pressed olive oil from a glass container, in a very thin stream. My next memory is that of savoring the garlicky cream on toast. My mom made allioli using an immersion blender, but the results were just as delicious.
In a blending cup, or in a tall container not much wider that the width of the head of the immersion blender, add all the garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Immerse a hand blender and blend until smooth. Add the egg yolk and blend again until very smooth and well blended. Slowly add the oil in a very slow stream, incorporating it into the sauce without stopping the blender. Use an up-and-down hand motion, while maintaining the running blades always in contact with the sauce. The aioli should reach a consistency just slightly thicker than that of mayonnaise.
Allioli is a garlicky mayonnaise-like sauce that accompanies many rice dishes in the Valencian region, and a number of other dishes in the rest of Spain. The word allioli is a combination of the Valencian language words all (garlic) i (and) oli (oil). In the Castilian speaking regions of Spain it can be spelled with just one “l”, as in alioli, or even by its translation, ajoaceite. The most basic allioli contains only the two ingredients, garlic and olive oil, but I grew up eating allioli containing egg and a bit of vinegar or lemon as well. The recipe I’m sharing is a variation of the traditional, treating the garlic three different ways, making for a much smoother allioli.
I won’t elaborate on the feast of the Three Kings, but I will leave you with a link, of a children’s story I wrote for Highlights for Children magazine a few years ago (click here to read and hear the story). There I explain more about the celebration.
On 9N the Catalans ought to have a say on their aspirations as a country. To this moment, however, it is still uncertain whether the Spanish authorities would act to stop Catalonia citizens from expressing their opinion on the heated issue of their relationship with Spain.
Sadly, the Spanish administration and the Spain’s two major parties view on the ‘right to decide’ has been radically opposed to the sensible approach of the UK government to Scotland’s referendum. A political mistake that represents only the last episode of the long lasting decay of the Spanish democracy…
Depends on where you are. If you’re in the US, NZ, Britain, Canada, Japan, and South Korea, then a tablespoon holds three teaspoons or 15 millilitres. In Australia, a tablespoon holds 20 millilitres or four teaspoons.
Why is it better to use a metal spoon to fold beaten egg whites into a pudding mixture? J. Storey
Allioli goes back even further. It’s from a family of oil and garlic-based-emulsion sauces found around the Mediterranean rim. Pliny the Elder, based in Roman Tarragona in the first century AD, observed a sauce made only with garlic, oil and a little vinegar. Tarragona sits in the south of Catalonia.
Mayonnaise vs. Aioli: What’s The Difference? (Recipes and More!)
FAQ
What is Spanish aioli made of?
What do Americans call aioli?
Is aioli just garlic mayonnaise?
What is Ali Oli in English?
What does aioli look like?
Traced back to the cuisine of Spain during the first century A.D., aioli is actually a thick garlic sauce completely devoid of egg (via Chowhound ). Aioli’s seemingly similar consistency is instead a result of creamed garlic. When painstakingly mashed with olive oil, aioli becomes smooth and pale — and looks an awful lot like mayo.
What is aioli made of?
Aioli is delicious emulsification of olive oil and garlic. It’s very pure tasting and quite intense. But more commonly today, it’s a blend of mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. That said, it can also be made with egg yolks, mustard, garlic, lemon juice or vinegar, oil, and salt.
What is true aioli?
True aioli is an emulsion of just mashed garlic, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Making it is laborious, because you have to add the oil a drop at a time, pounding it together with a mortar and pestle. Aioli is extremely thick and used as an ingredient in traditional Mediterranean dishes.
Does aioli contain garlic?
In order for aioli to be, well, aioli, it needs to contain garlic. (So, yes, when the menu says “garlic aioli” it’s being redundant.) Both mayonnaise and aioli contain oil, egg yolk and some kind of acid such as lemon juice or vinegar.