Aioli

Aioli of garlic, salt, and olive oil in a mortar
Aioli with olives

Aioli or aïoli (/aɪˈoʊli/ or /eɪˈoʊli/; Provençal Occitan: alhòli [aˈʎɔli] or aiòli [aˈjɔli]; Catalan: allioli [ˌaʎiˈɔli]) is a Mediterranean sauce made of garlic and olive oil; some regions use other emulsifiers such as egg. The names mean "garlic and oil" in Catalan and Provençal. Its association is with the cuisines of the Mediterranean coasts of Spain (Valencia, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Murcia and eastern Andalusia), France (Provence) and Italy (Liguria, Sicily and Calabria). Current versions of the French-Provençal sauce are closer to a garlic mayonnaise, incorporating egg yolks and lemon juice, whereas the original French-Provençal and Catalan versions are without egg yolk and have more garlic. This gives the sauce a pastier texture, while making it more laborious to make as the emulsion is harder to stabilize.[1][2][3][4] There are many variations, such as adding lemon juice or other seasonings. In France it may include mustard.[5][6] It is often served at room temperature.

Like mayonnaise, aioli is an emulsion or suspension of small globules of oil and oil-soluble compounds in water and water-soluble compounds. In Spain, purists believe that the absence of egg distinguishes aioli from mayonnaise, but that is not the case in France and other countries, where cooks may use egg or egg yolk as an emulsifier. Using only garlic as an emulsifier requires that the cook thoroughly crush it and add oil drop by drop so excess oil does not "cut" the aioli.

Since the late 1980s, many people call all flavored mayonnaises aioli. Flavorings include saffron and chili.[7] However, some purists insist that flavored mayonnaise can contain garlic, but true aioli contains no seasoning other than garlic.[8]

Etymology

The word is a compound of words meaning "garlic" and "oil".

The English spelling comes from the French aïoli, which itself comes from Occitan. The spelling in Occitan may be alhòli, following the classical norm, or aiòli, following the Mistralian norm.[9] In Catalan, it is spelled allioli (pronounced [ˌaʎiˈɔɫi]). In southeastern Spain, it is called ajoaceite or ajiaceite, whereas in the rest of Spain, the Catalan term is more common. In Galician, it is spelled alioli.

Basic recipe

Garlic is crushed in a mortar and pestle and emulsified with salt, and olive oil. Today, aioli is often made in a food processor or blender, but traditionalists object that this does not give the same result.[4]

Serving

In Malta, arjoli or ajjoli is commonly made with the addition of either crushed galletti or tomato.

In Occitan cuisine, aioli is typically served with seafood, fish soup, and croutons, in a dish called merluça amb alhòli.

In the Occitan Valleys of Italy it is served with potatoes[10] boiled with salt and bay laurel.

In Provence, aioli or, more formally, le grand aïoli, aioli garni, or aïoli monstre is a dish consisting of various boiled vegetables (usually carrots, potatoes, artichokes, and green beans), poached fish (normally soaked salt cod), snails, canned tuna, other seafood, and boiled eggs, all served with aioli. This dish is often served during the festivities on the feast days of the patron saint of Provençal villages and towns. It is traditional to serve it with snails for Christmas Eve and with cod on Ash Wednesday.[4] Aïoli is so strongly associated with Provence that when the poet Frédéric Mistral started a regionalist, Provençal-language, newspaper in 1891, he called it L'Aiòli.[2][11]

In Spain, allioli is often served with arròs a banda from Alicante, with grilled lamb, grilled vegetables and arròs negre, and comes in other varieties such as allioli de codony (allioli with boiled quince, not the preserve) or allioli with boiled pear.[5] Other commonly used vegetables are beets, fennel, celery, zucchini, cauliflower, chick peas, and raw tomato.[4][6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ J.-B. Reboul, La Cuisinière Provençale 1910 (1st edition); 1989 (25th edition), p. 88
  2. 1 2 Robert Courtine, The Hundred Glories of French Cooking (tr. Derek Coldman), 1973, p. 140
  3. ↑ Henri Philippon, Cuisine de Provence, 1977 (2nd ed), p. 20
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mireille Johnston, The Cuisine of the Sun, 1976; Johnston gives one recipe without extra flavorings (p. 75) and one with mustard (p. 229)
  5. 1 2 Prosper Montagné, Larousse Gastronomique (1938, tr. 1961), s.v.
  6. 1 2 Olney, Richard (1994). Lulu's Provençal table : the exuberant food and wine from Domaine Tempier Vineyard. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 124–5. ISBN 0-06-016922-2.
  7. ↑ Google ngrams
  8. ↑ David Tanis, A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes, ISBN 1579653464, 2008, p. 102
  9. ↑ cf. Occitan writing systems
  10. ↑ "La cucina occitana (area cuneese)" (in Italian). Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  11. ↑ Julian Wright, The Regionalist Movement in France 1890-1914: Jean Charles-Brun and French Political Thought, ISBN 0199264880, p. 47-48 and passim
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