TOOM Garlic Dip Review
Author’s Note: This is not a paid review. I have nooo affiliation with Toom or Costco. These are my own sassy little opinions.
A mild inconvenience for vampires.
My favorite local Lebanese restaurant serves an incredible garlic sauce (toum) over shish taouk, rice, and vegetables. It’s so good, I *sort of* learned to make my own version at home. Sort of. Mine was never quite as good. Alas.
I’ve been hearing about Toom Garlic Dip for a while, and although I wanted to try it, I was afraid it would let me down, big time. You see, the more you love something, the worse it hurts when its not right.
So. Costco had a sale. And, for $4.99, I was finally ready to try this. While checking out, my cashier gushed about how good it was, so I had hope.
Well, cover me in jam and tie me to an anthill! Now I know what all the fuss is about. This stuff is fabulous. I wish I had tried it sooner. It’s VERY similar to my favorite Lebanese garlic sauce. Eerily similar. The one key difference is that it is less “spicy” (from the fresh/hot garlic). It does have a distinct garlic taste, but not “dragon breath” level. Only enough to mildly inconvenience the vampires. Watch your neck.
Toom’s texture is beautiful. It’s fluffy and creamy. It *looks* a bit like mayonnaise, but fortunately has a much lighter, airy texture. Not at all slimy. Just velvety smooth and delicate. In fact, the consistency reminds me a little bit of crème fraîche. Or even whipped yogurt. Even though it has a base of vegetable oil, it isn’t “oily.”
(Looking for another creamy, flavorful sauce? I enjoyed this Basil Pesto Cream Sauce from Publix — read my full review here.)
The three basic ingredients in Toom’s dip are oil, garlic, and lemon juice. They are balanced so that none of the flavors overwhelm the others. The lemon provides a gentle zip of gleeful tang, without being truly sour. The garlic is rich, but not hot. This is “respectful garlic.” In fact, you could probably eat this in your cubicle at work without annoying your coworkers.*
While not a “salty” sauce, it does have enough sea salt to be savory and satisfying. I lightly salted mine to give it a little extra punch. I’m just that way, OK?
Now the bad news: Since the base of this dip is oil, you’ll be eating a lot of, well, oil. Although the package says a serving is 1 tablespoon, I’m pretty sure I ate, erm, 5 million tablespoons per meal. Ok. Maybe 5 or 6 tablespoons. Or 10. I don’t know. A lot. It’s too delicious to eat one tablespoon at a time! So, that’s a lot of unwanted seed-oil fat. That’s really the only thing that would limit my consumption of this heavenly substance. Otherwise, I’d be buying this by the truckload. More about the ingredients later.
Serving the Toom Garlic Sauce
I ate my Toom Garlic Dip over a plate of basmati rice, roasted carrots, fresh tomatoes, and olives. I sprinkled some ground sumac on top, which complimented the flavors gloriously. I wish I’d also had some chopped parsley and pine nuts. But I did not. Alas.
I am impressed that this garlic sauce doesn’t melt, even when served on warm foods. That’s an issue I had with my homemade version — it was too stiff after refrigeration, and too melty when warmed. Magically, Toom’s isn’t that way — it’s soft and light and spreadable, while maintaining structural integrity. Even when mixed into my rice, it stayed a creamy (not oily) consistency — almost like yogurt. Witchcraft.
(Hey, do you like yogurt? Here’s my review of Cabot’s Greek Yogurt — which is THEE thickest, fattiest yogurt I’ve ever tried! Yum.)
Ingredients in Toom Garlic Dip
Here are the ingredients, from the label:
- Non-GMO Expeller Pressed Canola Oil
- Fresh Garlic
- Lemon Juice
- Sea Salt
- Maltodextrin (Corn)
- Citric Acid
I mean. This is a pretty good ingredient list for a mass-produced product. Maltodextrin is not my favorite, but I am resigned to my fate. And, I generally limit my canola oil consumption. But I’ll make an exception here. I guess I have to! My stomach commands it.
More information from the label:
- Dairy Free
- Certified Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Kosher
Nutrition Facts in Toom Garlic Dip
Once again, a serving is supposed to be 1 tablespoon. I find this completely unreasonable. *grumbles*
IF you managed to limit yourself to ONE miserly tablespoon, it would have 80 calories, 8.5 grams of fat, and 0 grams of protein. You also get 0 grams fiber, 0 grams sugars, and only 4% your daily value of sodium.
Price and Servings
Well, I bought the 1-pound Costco tub. So, I got 32 servings. Theoretically.
The normal price at Costco is $6.99 for 16 ounces. Per serving, that would be about 22 cents.
But Aldi also sells this in 8-ounce containers. And so does Publix. And most other major retailers. You totally don’t have to buy a whole pound at once. But, why wouldn’t you?
If you’re wondering where to find this at Costco, it’s usually in the refrigerator case with the other packaged foods like hummus, pimento spread, and kimchi.
Other TOOM Varieties
Although my Costco only sells the Original flavor, Toom also makes these varieties:
- Basil Garlic
- Buffalo Garlic
- Chipotle Garlic
Shelf Life
Impressively, this has a 2-week shelf life once opened. The label says to consume 14 days after opening, which is far more generous than I expected. Unopened, mine had a “best by” date of nearly 4 months in the future. Whew.
It does, of course, need to be refrigerated. Duh.
Dramatic Conclusion
I regret the years I’ve wasted without Toom in my life. But, toom-orrow is looking brighter. If you love creamy garlicy sauces, this dip is for you. If you love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, this is also for you.
If you’re a vampire, this is not for you.
*Certain restrictions apply. Some coworkers are annoyed no matter what. You know.
The End.
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