How Long Does Tzatziki Last In The Fridge
Tzatziki should last 2-3 days in the refrigerator, but youll find so many amazing ways to use it up, it will be gone long before then! If stored longer, there is a risk that the garlic, which has extremely low acidity, may produce botulism, a serious toxin, and this is not a risk worth taking.
Can You Freeze Tzatziki? No. I mean technically yes you can but sadly this recipe doesnt keep well in the freezer. The consistency changes and it becomes watery after freezing. Its best made and eaten within about 5 days.
Do You Peel Cucumber To Make Tzatziki
Short answer: you dont have to! To make the Worlds Best Tzatziki recipe youll need a cup of cucumber . If yours has seeds, get those outa there before anything. I like to leave the peel on for more nutrients and fiber !
Sprinkle with a touch of salt then lay the cucumber out flat on a few layers of paper towels and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients. The salt helps to draw out moisture from the cucumber!
How To Make Roasted Garlic
When making authentic tzatziki sauce, going the extra mile for roasted garlic is a delicious way to really bring out the flavors.
Because this is an extra step from purchasing pre-made garlic, you may want to complete this step, plus the next step on prepping and straining yogurt, the day before you actually need the dip. This breaks the recipe down into two days, with prep able to be done the night before if you want and combination the day of.
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How To Store Homemade Tzatziki
Store your prepared Tzatziki dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You may notice a little separation after a day or two in the refrigerator. If you do, give the sauce a good stir and it should even itself out.
I dont recommend freezing cucumber sauce for later use. In my experience the sauce does not freeze well, because the cucumbers tend to get mushy from freezing and thawing. However, if you really want to, yes you can freeze it. It will not go bad by any means, but it will just not have the same preferred texture.
Easy Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients
This easy tzatziki sauce requires just 7 ingredients:
- Full-fat Greek yogurt Make sure you grab plain yogurt! If you cant find full-fat, plain Greek yogurt, buy the highest fat content you can find. Using the full-fat gives the dip more flavor and gives it an even creamier taste.
- Extra virgin olive oil Were using extra virgin here so that the olive oil doesnt overpower the bright flavors of the easy tzatziki sauce.
- Lemon juice Tzatziki dip shines with a hit of acid and thats just what the lemon does here.
- Fresh dill The classic Greek tzatziki sauce flavors. Dont skip it!
- Fresh parsley The addition of parsley helps to add a bright, herby flavor.
- Garlic Not that we need a reason to add garlic to anything, but here it adds a pungent, savory flavor.
- Sea Salt Add sea salt to taste until the homemade tzatziki sauce is just right.
- Cucumber Adds vegetables, and cool, green cucumber flavor.
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How To Make Garlic Sauce
Making toum, or touma, from scratch is simple, but it’s all about the very slow and steady emulsification process that whips the garlic and oil together with the help of lemon juice and a bit of ice water. Traditionally, a morter and pestle are used to make this garlic sauce recipe, but I have found a small food processor to work just as well. Here is how to make it:
- Mince the garlic and kosher salt together. First, pulse the peeled and sliced garlic and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt in a small food processor until the garlic appears minced.
- Add lemon juice. Pour in juice of one lemon and pulse again a few times to combine.
- Slowly slowly slowly add the oil and alternate with a bit of ice water, while the processor is running. Drizzle about ¼ cup of the oil very slowly from the top opening of the food processor . Add about 1 tablespoon of ice water and keep the processor going. Continue to do this using ¼ cup of oil at a time and alternating with the ice water until the oil is finished and the garlic sauce has thickened and increased in volume (it should look whipped and fluffly. This process can take a good 10 minutes, do not rush it!
Why Greek Yogurt Is Good For You
Besides being a great healthy option for achieving that creamy tang, adding Oikos Greek Nonfat Yogurt to your diet is always a good idea because of these healthful yogurt facts:
- Greek nonfat yogurt is higher in protein and lower in fat than regular mayonnaise.
- According to the 2015 USDA Dietary Guidelines, 64% of Americans dont meet their daily calcium needs. Each 5.3 oz cup of Oikos Nonfat Yogurt supplies 15% of the daily calcium our bodies need, so eating even one yogurt a day becomes a first step to a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.
- Greek yogurt contains active yogurt cultures and the balance and diversity of bacteria in your gut is associate with better health.
- Greek yogurt contains less lactose than regular nonfat yogurt, making it helpful for yogurt lovers who are lactose intolerant.
And those are just a few reasons for using Greek yogurt as a base for any dip is a good thing.
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What Do You Eat Toum With
If you haven’t already tried toum or touma, you might be wondering how to use it or what to pair it with.
This garlic sauce recipe is one versatile condiment you will use over and over. Pretty much anything you think might need a kick of garlic, you can use toum!
The most obvious and traditional use of toum sauce is with things like chicken kabobs, shawarma, grilled lamb, or falafel. It’s also great with grilled swordfish or grilled salmon.
I’ve been known to use this garlic sauce to jazz up some grilled vegetables or stirred in boiled potatoes or olive oil pasta .
And if nothing else, egg-free toum can easily replace mayonnaise or aioli as a healthier, bolder, and far tastier spread on sandwiches!
How To Prepare The Ancient Greek Sauce Garum At Home
Todays recipe for garum takes us back many centuries into the past, to one of the most appreciated and widely used culinary preparations of the ancients. This is the ninth in Giorgio Pintzas Monzanis series about the foods of ancient Greece and how they have spread to cuisines around the world. The Greek-Italian chef is also a writer and consultant.
With a particularly strong, complex taste, garum is the result of an ancient fermentation process involving whole fish, layered alternately with salt.
Many people today believe garums original recipe is full of historical uncertainties, connected to the contradictions about its consistency: there are those who hypothesize it had a form like fish paste, dense and creamy whereas others say it was a sort of colatura, much more liquid.
However, the reality is much simpler from the same processing were obtained two products having different consistencies: a liquid part, called liquamen, and a denser mixture, without liquids, called allec.
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What Is Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki sauce is a yogurt and cucumber sauce, which is typically found in Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Most versions include strained yogurt , cucumbers, garlic, salt, and some versions include fresh herbs and a bit of acid like lemon juice or vinegar.
Its creamy and cool and goes well with so many dishes! You wont run out of ways to eat this.
An Easy No Fail Version Of Avgolemono Sauce For Beginners
If you havent tried making an Avgolemono recipe before, I have a little trick for you that will make your egg-lemon sauce impossible to fail. You will need the same ingredients as in the basic Avgolemono recipe with the addition of 1 tsp of corn strarch.
Into a bowl add the lemon juice and 1 tbsp of water, add the corn starch and whisk well until dissolved. Crack in the eggs and whisk very well. Add slowly some of the warm stock or soup and whisk quickly, add some more and whisk again so that the eggs warm up. Then pour gradually the egg mixture back into the pot, whilst constantly stirring and bring just below boiling point. Done!
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Tzatziki Nutrition & Yogurt Notes
Nutritionally speaking, tzatziki is a creamy but light sauce. You can dollop it generously on your food without adding a lot of calories . Its made mostly with Greek yogurt and cucumber, after all.
I havent found a noticeable difference in texture whether I use whole-milk yogurt, low-fat or non-fat, so any of those will work. Traditional Greek tzatziki is made with strained goat or sheeps yogurt, but its hard to find those here. The Greek yogurt sold here in the U.S. is strained yogurt , so I use that.
As always, please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! Im excited to hear how it turns out for you and how you serve it.
Salt Helps Remove Moisture From Cucumbers
Cucumbers are incredibly crisp and refreshing because they contain over 90% water. A majority of it needs to be quickly removed for the tzatziki sauce to prevent a thin consistency. The sodium draws out the moisture from the cut plant cell walls by osmosis, releasing the liquid. It also seasons the vegetable for a slightly briny flavor.
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Can You Make Greek Tzatziki Sauce Ahead
Yes, you can definitely make Greek tzatziki sauce recipe ahead of time. In fact, I like to make mine ahead of time so that the flavors have time to meld together.
Ideally, make it at least 30 minutes before you want to serve it, though you can certainly serve it immediately if need be.
TIP: If your tzatziki sauce is watery after being in the fridge for a while, simply drain off any extra liquid.
How To Make Greek Gyro Sauce
I learned how to make this Tzatziki recipe while I was visiting Athens everyone who tries it tells me that its the authentic tzatziki sauce recipe they were looking for!
Reading: how to make greek gyro sauce
Let me start by apologizing for not posting this sooner.
I know Ive promised you all sorts of Greek recipes, so starting today I am going to deliver! First things first. How to Make Tzatziki Sauce!
You may be wondering, What is Tzatziki sauce? This is a classic Greek appetizer made from thick strained yogurt, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, and fresh dill.
Its super simple to make and a hit at any get-together!
While in Athens, I decided to take a cooking class on preparing classic Greek dishes.
One of the first things we made in that class was this Tzatziki sauce! I was so thrilled when we made this, because Ive been looking for the perfect homemade tzatziki recipe for ages.
I made a few adjustments to suit my taste , but feel free to experiment with your own amounts of each ingredient!
Right, so back to this recipe. Here are the most important tips and tricks I picked up in class:
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Easy Greek Tzatziki Sauce Recipe
This Greek Tzatziki Sauce is a quick and easy low-carb recipe. Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, fresh dill, lemon juice, and garlic are combined in a food processor for an amazingly authentic flavor. Enjoy this homemade Mediterranean sauce with kabobs, gyros, or falafel.
What If I Like My Sauce Thinner
Add up to 1/2 cup of water to the sauce while it is cooking to thin it out.
- 1yellow onionfinely chopped
- 2cloves garlicfinely minced
- 4cupsdiced tomatoesgood quality canned
- 3/4cupred wine
- 2tbspfresh parsleyfinely chopped
- 1 1/2tspdried Greek oregano
- 1/4tspground cinnamon
- 1/4tspfresh ground pepper
- 1/4tspsea salt
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Why This Recipe Works
Simple ingredients Greek yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, dill, salt and pepper and olive oil. Thats it! You probably have most, if not all of these ingredients on hand right now!
Fresh Lots of things taste good. But not many things taste fresh like this Greek tzatziki does. Its the yogurt, cucumbers, and dill that really make this sauce so much better than store-bought.
Easy to make ahead If you want to have this easy tzatziki sauce on hand for all the dipping and saucing you have coming up, you can easily make this ahead of time and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Versatile Not only can you pour this homemade tzatziki sauce on top of all the meats and veggies, but you can also make it thinner or thicker depending on your preferences more on that below.
What Goes In Garlic Sauce
Some toum recipes call for mayonnaise, but this traditional recipe, adapted from Maureen Abood’s Lebanese cookbook Rosewater and Orange Blossoms is completely vegan, and to me, it tastes far better, while remaining nice and creamy.
It literally takes 5 ingredients to make, one of which is water! Here’s what’s in this toum sauce recipe:
- Garlic. I used 1 whole head .
- Kosher salt. Just 1 teaspoon
- Neutral-tasting oil. 1 ¾ cup. As much as I love my extra virgin olive oils, for toum, it’s best to use something like a grapeseed oil or sunflower seed oil.
- Lemon Juice. 1 lemon.
Plus a little bit of ice water to help during the emulsification process.
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Easy Greek Tzatziki Sauce
Just yesterday, I happily discovered I have something in common with the famous food philosopher Alice Waters. Yep. Me and Alice Waters. Its like were twins, living the same foodie ways, and it all stems from our refrigerators. Because apparently, shelike meis a condiment junkie. Okay, so its a stretch, I know, but hey, when youre 6 degrees of separation from the queen of slow food, you take what you can get.
Condiments are just as important to a dish as the dish itself. Theyre the flavor builders. The meal toppers. And theyre all the things that make my mouth go ZING!, and thats why tangy Greek yogurt fits really well into the condiment category for me.
Besides being a favorite part of breakfast parfaits or acting as the base to my fave afternoon bowl of fruit and nuts, nonfat yogurt does double duty in so many more ways. It subs for buttermilk to tenderize chicken, its a lower fat alternative to sour cream or mayo-based sauces for grilled meat and fish, and its my healthier stand-in for mayonnaise in any classic mayo-mixed sandwich. I even use it on my summer BLTs.
But while yogurt is a great sub for other ingredients, there is one recipe that can not, should never, would totally not be PC to flip the tables on, and thats to replace yogurt in the classic Greek tzatziki sauce.
How To Make Tzatziki Sauce
Here I show you step by step how to make tzatziki sauce.
First, assemble the ingredients.
Grate 1/2 of a large cucumber, unpeeled.
Drain the grated cucumber through a fine mesh sieve.
Allow the grated cucumber to drain overnight in the fridge by placing the sieve over a bowl and covering with plastic wrap. If you dont have time to do the overnight drain, just press the cucumber in the sieve to press out more of the liquid.
Add 1 1/2 cups plain, full-fat Greek yogurt, 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into a large bowl.
Mix the yogurt and other ingredients well.
The yogurt mix should be smooth and consistent as shown below.
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Cover and refrigerate the yogurt mix overnight.
The next day, when you are ready to serve the tzatziki, mince the fresh dill to yield one tablespoon of dill.
Take the yogurt mixture out of the refrigerator and transfer the grated cucumber and fresh dill into the yogurt mixture.
Stir well to combine in the cucumber and dill.
The tzatziki sauce should be well combined as shown below.
Serve chilled with pita bread and veggies for dipping.
Im getting hungry just looking at this deliciousness on a plate!
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Ancient Greek Sauce Garum Used To Flavor A Wide Range Of Foods
The sauce, which has Babylonian origins, arrived on the coasts of Mediterranean lands thanks to the voyages of the Phoenicians it was later named because of the fish used in its preparation garon, known today as anchovies.
The fish sauce quickly became one of the main seasonings used not only in the royal banquets of the Greek poleis, but also on the daily tables of the rest of the population.
The great gastronomical range of Greek cuisine led to its use in many preparations even in dishes where fish was not the protagonist: for example in seasoning mushrooms and cereal-based dishes.
Greeks surely made it a progenitor of their cuisine but there was not a great deal of experimentation with it when they prepared it.
Later, the gastronomical innovations of the Roman empire brought the Greek product to a high culinary importance and made it the most used condiment in ancient times.
The name became garum in Roman lands, taking the root of the Greek term, and transforming it into the Latin alphabet.
Moreover, in the Roman period were born some variants of the same condiment, catalogued according to the additions made during its preparation:
- Oxygarum, with the addition of vinegar
- Hydrogarum, with aromatic herbs
- Eleogarum, with added olive oil
The Roman writer Quintus Gargilius Martial provides a fairly accurate description on the preparation and choice of ingredients for garum:
