How to Make Homemade Aioli Recipe - House of Nash Eats (2024)

FAQs

What is an aioli sauce made of? ›

What is aioli sauce made of? At it's simplest, an aioli recipe starts with egg yolks and olive oil which is seasoned with a little lemon juice, a generous pinch of salt, maybe a little dijon mustard, and most often garlic. The two liquids are emulsified together so they don't separate over time.

First, try whisking in a teaspoon of warm water. Whisking can be done with a brisk back-and-forth motion, or in fast circles. If this doesn't work, put another room temperature egg yolk in a clean bowl. Then slowly whisk the thin mixture into the new egg yolk, drop by drop.

How to Store Aioli. While garlic aioli is best enjoyed on the day it's made, it will last up to 7-10 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Avoid freezing, as the mayonnaise will split and become unpalatable.

The Difference Between Aioli and Mayo

Although aioli and mayonnaise are both creamy emulsions, aioli is made from garlic and olive oil while mayo is made from egg yolks and canola oil. The final result may look similar but the two sauces have distinctly different flavors.

Nowadays, the word aioli is pretty much synonymous with mayo, and is often just a simple mayonnaise (store-bought or homemade) that is flavored generously with garlic—a nod to its origins.

If you ask me, aioli is quite similar to mayonnaise. They're both made of raw eggs emulsified with oil (mayonnaise is made with neutral oil, while aioli is made with olive oil) and a little bit of acid (mayonnaise uses vinegar, while aioli uses lemon juice). Sometimes the French add a little bit of mustard.

A runny, broken aioli is a very common problem that plagues kitchens everywhere, and there are several ways to troubleshoot it. In the case of having too much liquid in the beginning, be it in an extra squeeze of lemon juice or too much water, we recommend that you simply add an extra egg yolk.

If your garlic has started to sprout, or it's just been hanging in your pantry for a while, it can have a bitter taste. Try making your aioli with fresh garlic.

Since about 1990, it has become common in the United States to call all flavored mayonnaises aioli. Purists insist that flavored mayonnaise can contain garlic, but true aioli contains garlic and no other seasoning (except salt).

I love aioli, of all types. Though making your own aioli (like mayonnaise) calls for raw egg yolks. Food safety in mind, I prefer to temper my eggs in a double boiler, much like one does when making hollandaise sauce. Alternatively, these days, you can purchase pasteurized eggs in most grocery stores.

Is aioli healthier than mayo? ›

There is an ongoing debate as to whether an aioli is healthier than its cousin mayonnaise. Mayo is essentially any neutral flavored oil, with egg yolk, vinegar and lemon juice, whereas an aioli begins with pounding garlic, which has many health benefits, with a mortar and pestle and using olive oil instead of canola.

Kidding aside, American eating has essentially defined aioli as fancy flavored mayo, usually flavored with garlic but also blended with everything from black truffles to chipotle chiles. In France and Spain, though, aioli is a different sauce entirely.

What is commonly referred to as aïoli sauce is actually a mayo flavored with a generous amount of garlic. In southern France, precisely in Provence where aïoli originates, it was just lots of garlic pounded with a mortar and pestle and emulsified with oil, no eggs or acid added.

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.

Kidding aside, American eating has essentially defined aioli as fancy flavored mayo, usually flavored with garlic but also blended with everything from black truffles to chipotle chiles. In France and Spain, though, aioli is a different sauce entirely.

Traditional aioli calls for raw egg yolks. Truth be told, I have egg “issues”. Omelets, frittatas and scrambled eggs are just fine. But I balk at hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs because of the sulfuric smell and rubbery egg white texture.

Since about 1990, it has become common in the United States to call all flavored mayonnaises aioli. Purists insist that flavored mayonnaise can contain garlic, but true aioli contains garlic and no other seasoning (except salt).

Traditional aioli is essentially a garlic oil, and not mayonnaise, nor a garlic flavored mayonnaise. A classic mayonnaise involves the emulsion of egg yolk and oil. Each of these two sauces has many variations. This causes even more confusion for those with little culinary knowledge.