What is the difference between aioli and chutneys or mayonnaise

Sorry to ask but I am confused in India we have 100 varieties of chutneys with or without garlic we also make different types of mayonnaise but I never heard of AIOLI

pauljoseph
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Greenstuff May 21, 2011
@susan g, I love Pedaling Through Provence!

Alioli in Spanish, allioli in Catalan, aïoli in French--I think they were all originally just garlic (ail) plus oil (oli). But the egg yolks do help with the emulsion, and I like some of the modern twists, like saffron and pepper.

I'm not so sure about the Asian drift in another foodpickle thread (!!!), but what the heck--it's a pretty fun topic.
 
susan G. May 21, 2011
What hasn't come up in this discussion is that aioli is from Provence in France. From "Pedaling Through Provence Cookbook" by Sarah Leah Chase:
"Stories are legendary in Provence about the inordinate amounts of garlic different cooks pack into a single batch of aioli -- sometimes more than a head per person..."
And she quotes from Frederic Mistral, "Provence's beloved poet":
"Aioli intoxicates slightly, saturates the body with warmth and bathes the soul with enthusiasm...Around an aioli, pungent and yellow'orange as a thread of gold, tell me where you will not find men who recognize each other as brothers."
What's called for in this contest seems to be mostly 'as inspired by'.
 
ChefJune May 21, 2011
AMEN, pierino! Technically, nothing else but the Garlic Mayo is Aîoli. All those other added flavors are flavored MAYOs, not Aîolis. American chefs/cooks have usurped the word because they think it sounds more exotic. It does, but it's not really correct. There is really only ONE Aîoli -- Garlic.

And the pronounciation is "eye-oh-LEE" not the way most Americans say "aaa-OLEE."

Been loving the stuff since i first "discovered" it in 1984!
 
pierino May 21, 2011
Aioli is a mayonaisse. It gets its name from "ail" the French word for garlic. Short version, no garlic, no aioli.
 
pauljoseph May 20, 2011
now I understood the differences thank you next week I am going to north Kerala THALASSERY to visit my aunt and she said she will show me how to make a mayonnaise flavor with Fresh black pepper seeds (We call Green pepper)
 
Greenstuff May 20, 2011
We've been through the aioli discussion a few times in the foodpickle universe. At its most basic, aioli is simply garlic plus oil. Its linguistic roots, for its alternatives in a number of languages, all literally mean garlic plus oil. Adding egg yolk helps with the emulsion (a lot). Adding some other flavors just mean fun flavors.

Chutney is something else! Also delicious.
 
Panfusine May 20, 2011
LucyS: WEll explained!
 
LucyS May 20, 2011
Sorry, I'm going to elaborate a bit on that - now that I've thought about your question more! I'm not sure about the technical variations, but when I was in India the chutneys I encountered were different than mayonnaise in the base. Mayonnaise is a particular emulsion of egg and olive oil that, while it has some similarities and similar ingredients to chutneys, was not quite the same. The chutneys I had were less smooth, and more based in vegetables and herbs, and less thick and eggy. There was more of an oil base than a egg/oil base.

Aioli is a mayonnaise-y garlic spread, often with variations depending on the dish, which probably varies as much as Indian chutneys, but is different than mayonnaise in the extent of variation and garlicky taste. I hope this is helpful, I'm sure you can add to understanding of Indian chutneys! Also others please correct me if my thoughts about aioli/mayonnaise are wrong.
 
sdebrango May 20, 2011
An aioli uses the same process as mayonaise but it contains garlic. Mayo is usually just egg, oil and acid. I am not that familiar with chutneys, have eaten them and the chutneys I have eaten were not oil based like a mayonaise but of course you have so many varieties of chutney maybe some do have oil in them,
 
LucyS May 20, 2011
Mayonnaise is an emulsion of olive oil and egg, often with lemon and/or a few other seasonings. An aioli is a garlic mayonnaise, often with other flavorings, depending on a dish. And a chutney, as far as I can tell, has lots of variations but usually doesn't start with the olive oil - egg emulsion. But this is just my understanding, and very basic!
 
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