Literal translation
To raise, or whip up, the aioli
Meaning
to make an aïoli
Explanation
In its literal sense, this expression names the making of aioli, a sauce whipped up from olive oil and garlic whose success depends on a patient motion that makes it rise like a mayonnaise without breaking. The verb mounta (to raise, to rise) comes precisely from this cooking technique, where oil is worked in little by little while whisking to thicken the emulsion. From this concrete sense come two figurative uses attested in speech: heating up the mood of a party or gathering, the collective energy rising just as the sauce does under steady effort, and, through a bolder image, referring to the act of love, the motion of rising lending itself naturally to that shift in meaning. The register therefore ranges from neutral, in the kitchen, to markedly familiar or bawdy, the phrase inviting a wordplay Provençal speakers particularly enjoy around this emblematic dish.