Did you know you can make your own mayonnaise? Homemade mayo is actually very simple and easy to make and tastes SO much better than store bought! All you need are a few ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen right now.
Making mayonnaise is one of those magical tricks of chemistry. You take oil and water (inside the egg yolk) and somehow by stirring rapidly and adding an acid, you get them to exist in a permanent suspension called an emulsion...no need to shake together each time like salad dressing! Anyone can make this, but there is a trick to keeping the mixture from "breaking," which just means ruining the emulsion from ever happening...we'll explore that below in step three.
This simple recipe can be doubled, tripled etc. depending on how much mayo you want. The basic recipe will yield about a cup or so, and keep in mind, homemade mayo does NOT keep as long as store bought, so remember to make only as much as you can use in about two weeks.
Ready to get started? First, grab a mixing bowl, a kitchen towel and a balloon whisk. Making mayo takes a fair amount of elbow grease and you'll need both hands working, one to whisk and one to dribble oil. This is where the towel comes in; arrange the bowl so one side of the bottom is resting on the towel, which will help prevent it from sliding around as you whisk and will also tilt the bowl so you can mix properly.
Ingredients needed will include an egg yolk, one tablespoon of dijon mustard, a cup of oil such as olive oil, avocado oil or grapeseed oil and one to two teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice.
Step 1: After setting up your bowl on the towel, separate the white from the yolk of the egg and place the yolk in the bowl. Set aside the white for another use...like an omelet!
Step 2: Add the spoonful of dijon mustard to the bowl and mix with the yolk. Now comes the fun part...
Step 3: Okay, be CAREFUL at this point. The first half a minute of initially introducing oil to the mixture is the most critical and if you can keep it from breaking down into just blobs of oil and egg yolk after the first few tablespoon's worth of oil, then you've got it made! Start whisking the yolk and mustard mixture as you add a few drops of the oil. Continue dribbling just a few drops to the thinnest stream possible while whisking constantly (FYI, your arm will get a real workout!).
Step 4: Did you make it? Yes! Okay, you can start adding the oil a little bit faster now, but still keep it to a fairly thin stream. WHISK, WHISK, WHISK! Keep this up until the oil is completely added. You will notice the texture change during this process and the mixture will go from a thin, yellow liquid to slowly getting thicker and creamier.
Step 5: Okay, now add your lemon juice or vinegar, plus any other seasoning you might like. It is often nice to add a few drops of hot sauce, a little salt or a dash of paprika at this point. Whisk again and you'll notice the vinegar suddenly lightens the color a bit.
Okay, you're done! Now you have a bowl of homemade mayonnaise that is tasty and more fresh and nutritious than the big jar from the store. Use this to make a delicious tuna or egg salad or just to spread on your favorite sandwich!
Let me know in the comments what you thought about your mayo and whether you'll keep making your own or not!