What the Heck is Aioli Anyway? And What Do I Do With It?

We do get these questions often enough:  What the Heck is Aioli Anyway?  And What do I do with It?    People have been loving our Sunflower Oil Aiolis since we started introducing them last year and now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get some answers.  We have found some thanks to the Bon Appetit  and Tried and Tried and Supplied websites... 

First, from Bon Appetit:  "What is aioli? Isn't it just...mayo? But fancier? It sounds more regal (or at least more French or something).... Here's the big thing that mayo and aioli have in common: They're both emulsions. But...what’s an emulsion? The process of emulsification happens when two substances that don’t want to mix are forced to mix. Oil doesn’t disperse into water-based sauces or solutions (think of oil floating on top of water), so it needs to be broken up into a bunch of little droplets to be spread evenly throughout the mixture. In the case of mayo, oil is emulsified into a mixture of lemon juice or vinegar, mustard, egg yolk, and salt by whisking it in gradually—drop-by-drop at the very beginning—and vigorously. The droplets never truly become one with the mixture, but they become tiny and evenly suspended in the water, creating a creamy, almost fluffy texture."

"In some Mediterranean cultures, aioli refers very specifically to a sauce made from olive oil that has been emulsified into mashed garlic, usually with a mortar and pestle—and that's it. (Well, salt too, natch.) No egg yolk, no acid, just a shit-ton of garlic mashed up with oil to form a fluffy, vampire-repelling emulsion. "   Full story:  https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-aioli

For Kricklewood Farm Aioli, we use Ontario Garlic and Sunflower Oil, along with lemon juice and water, salt to create our Canadian version.  

Second:  From  What to do with it?  We have received many suggestions, such as using as a dip for BBQ's kabobs (thanks Lori Moreland for the idea and the photo) and we found a whole lot more on Tried and Supplied : 

• with (chips) french fries chips or wonderful wedge lemon roasted potatoes
• with seafood
• with crab fishcakes
• a dollop in fish soup
• with olives
• with plain boiled Jersey Royal potatoes
• dip in halved, roasted Brussels spouts
• with roast asparagus
• with hamburgers
• in a tomato sandwich
• with hard-boiled eggs and shrimps
• as a dip, with raw vegetables such as courgettes or cauliflower
• it’s quite good on boiled green beans
• with roasted aubergine
• with almost anything roast; fish, beef or lamb
• with poached chicken (poule au pot)
• with deep fried mussels
• with croquetas de jamón(Spanish croquettes)

Follow the link for the full story and link to some of these recipes, like the Spanish Croquettes which look  amazing!  https://triedandsupplied.com/saucydressings/cheats-aioli/