Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise

You'll need a large whisk, sometimes called a balloon whisk, a medium mixing bowl (I use one of my sturdy stainless steel bowls), and a piece of damp paper towel placed under the bowl so that it doesn't slip and slide against the counter as you mix because you'll need both your hands free.

[It is always important to note that when using raw eggs that anyone who has health concerns should either used pasteurized egg yolks or simply not make this.]

This recipe makes about 3/4 cup. If you want to make more you can just double these quantities but remember that it will also take twice the time to mix so get that arm ready to whisk for about 10 minutes.  Have all your ingredients at room temperature and measured out before you begin. You can store your mayonnaise in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Place the egg yolk in the bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon mustard and use your whisk to break the yolk and combine with the salt and mustard, but don't over mix.
  2. With the whisk in one hand and the measuring cup of oil in the other, begin adding the oil in a very thin stream -- just barely faster than drop-by-drop. Whisk constantly to combine the yolk with the oil. Start with tiny amounts and as you mix, you will find that you can speed up the rate of adding the oil as the emulsion starts to form, i.e., it starts looking like mayonnaise.
  3. If at any point you seem to have added too much oil or added it faster than the yolk can absorb it, stop adding the oil and keep whisking until it seems well combined. Then start dripping the oil again, always continuing to whisk and only adding as much oil as the yolk can absorb.
  4. If after adding about half the oil the emulsion seems too thick, you can add a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice to thin the mixture. Then continue to add the oil until it's all combined.
  5. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and vinegar or lemon juice to taste. Instead of using pepper, use drops of Tabasco or another hot sauce to taste so that you won't have little flecks of pepper in your mayonnaise.

Using Homemade Mayonnaise

There's nothing you can do to homemade mayo that you can't do with the one you buy at the grocery store. But because you're starting with something that is so vastly better tasting than the store-bought stuff, every dish you use it in will be notably more delicious because the mayonnaise will actually add flavor and not just oiliness.

Here are some things to do with your own mayonnaise:


Very similar to mayonnaise is aioli, a French sauce that is made with olive oil instead of vegetable oil, plus garlic. In a classic and particularly wonderful Provençal dish, aioli is served with salt cod and boiled vegetables. The stronger the flavor of the olive oil, the stronger the taste of the aioli.

But my favorite thing to do with homemade mayo is make céleri rémoulade.  See our recipe.

Category

Tags

SaucesFrench

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