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aioli
[ ahy-oh-lee, ey-oh-; French a-yaw-lee ]
noun
- a garlic-flavored mayonnaise of Provence, served with fish and seafood and often with vegetables.
aïoli
/ aɪˈəʊlɪ; eɪ- /
noun
- garlic mayonnaise
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of aioli1
Compare Meanings
How does aioli compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
If you can nail the cook on the skirt steak, caramelize the onions to perfection and do a flawless garlic aioli, you have a sandwich that you’ll crave for the rest of your life.
Sink into one of the plush leather banquettes to nosh on steakhouse classics like steak tartare, creamed kale and the most incredible double cheeseburger topped with in-house American cheese and dill aioli.
Take my aioli recipe for example: It’s so flavorful, and yes it’s dense, but I think you’re likely to use less of it than you would an industrial mayonnaise.
The shishito peppers wanted a bit more roasting, but still tasted buzzy-tender dipped in gently spicy house aioli.
A few of its products include coconut toffee roasted cashews, organic seaweed snacks and garlic mustard aioli.
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More About Aioli
What does aioli mean?
Aioli is a sauce made by mashing garlic and olive oil into a paste, sometimes with the addition of egg.
Traditionally, Spanish-style aioli is a thick paste made only from garlic and olive oil, while French-style aioli often includes egg. Sometimes aioli is used as a fancier word for mayonnaise, especially when it has garlic in it. In all of its forms, aioli is an emulsion, meaning its ingredients are specially blended into smooth consistency.
Example: The menu says aioli, but I’m pretty sure this is just mayo.
Where does aioli come from?
Is aioli the same as mayonnaise? To find out, let’s look at the ingredients. Aioli comes from French, from a combination of the words ai (meaning “garlic”) and oli (meaning “oil”)—making both the word and the food itself literally a mashup of garlic and oil. Those two ingredients are staples of the Mediterranean region, so it’s no wonder the people there have been combining them for thousands of years—even the Ancient Romans made something like aioli.
The word aioli is a more recent addition to English, with the first records of its use from around the late 1800s. Aioli is a staple in the Provence region of France, where it’s traditional to add egg to the mixture to help emulsify it (bond it into a paste so the oil doesn’t separate from the rest). Farther down the Mediterranean coast, in Spain, it’s traditional to make it by mashing garlic (and a little bit of salt) into a paste with a mortar and pestle and slowly adding oil until it comes together.
Mayonnaise is traditionally made with egg yolks, lemon juice, and oil, making it pretty close to French-style aioli, especially if it’s seasoned with garlic.
In the Mediterranean region, aioli is often used to top seafood and vegetables. In the United States and other places where the term is used more loosely, aioli often shows up on menus as a fancier way of saying mayo, especially when served as a dip or as a condiment for burgers and other sandwiches.
Did you know ... ?
How is aioli used in real life?
It depends where you are. Aioli can mean different things in different places, but it’s always a creamy condiment and usually involves garlic.
Here’s a video of a chef making aioli with just garlic and olive oil:
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My annual New Year's tradition. Scotch Eggs with a simple aioli on a bed of microgreens. pic.twitter.com/CWZTMVGpie
— Jason (@jasonthinks) January 1, 2020
Jamburgesa – First, we start with 1/lb beef patty cooked the way you like it, then it gets cheddar melted on top. We slather it up with a house-made bacon-jelly and top that with blue cheese crumble. Finished with garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, and red onion on a toasted bun. pic.twitter.com/nRX46OilRu
— Heathen's Feral Pub (@HeathenFeralPub) January 2, 2020
Quiz yourself!
The difference between French and Spanish aioli is that French aioli is typically made with which of the following ingredients?
A. wine
B. vinegar
C. egg yolk
D. paprika
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