Avoid the additives found in store bought aioli and easily make your own with a stick/immersion blender. This aioli is wonderfully creamy and so delicious with sweet potato fries, in a salad dressing or as a dip for raw vegetable sticks.

There are two culinary distinctions between aioli and mayonnaise. The first is that aioli contains garlic, and the second, is that aioli is made with extra virgin olive oil rather than a lighter tasting oil that is usually favoured for mayonnaise.

 

Ingredients information for Aioli

There has been some controversy about the purity of oils labelled “extra virgin”. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald stated that, “the global industry has been rocked by a series of scandals, with a recent US 60 Minutes segment revealing up to 80 per cent of extra virgin olive oil sold in America did not meet legal grades because they have been adulterated with cheap sunflower or canola oil, or are a different oil altogether – scented and coloured with “a few drops of chlorophyll”.”

To avoid this, I source locally produced olive oil. If you live in Australia, click here for a great article written by Choice Magazine. It even covers how to store and cook with extra virgin olive oil. Basically, store it in a cool dark place and use it within six months. When using extra virgin olive oil for cooking, I don’t use temperatures over 180 degrees C (350 F).

I also use extra virgin olive oil in the Date, Cinnamon and Rosemary Cake. This is actually my favourite cake recipe.

 

Preparation Tips for Aioli

I have used a wide-mouthed “Ball” preserving jar but if you don’t have something similar, try to find a tall narrow container.

 

This is how the mixture will look when it starts to cream. From this point, you slowly raise the stick blender up the jar as it mixes.

If by chance the aioli won’t cream together or separates, simply add 2 teaspoons of boiling water and remix with the stick blender. I know first-hand that this works. I was impatient and didn’t want to wait for my eggs to reach room temperature so had to use this rescue method myself.