
I adore mayonnaise (to the point that I once made a meal of just bread and mayo). I love it on sandwiches, and even more on fries. I don't even mind if it's the fake light stuff, as long as it's not the evil Miracle Whip (go here for a rant I couldn't say better myself). However, I have a confession: With all the food I've made, and fresh tastes that I love, I never made my own mayo until this week.
Ricardo inspired me. In the latest issue of his magazine, he's got a Classic Mayonnaise recipe, and then a selection of ways to make it into something even tastier. But for now, let me focus on the white stuff. This recipe was quite good, to the point that I will have to refrain from making more and more and becoming a fat, gelatinous beast hungry only for more oil whipped up with eggs.
There are few changes I'd make, like using a mixture of vinegar and lemon, and perhaps a different oil with a more subtle or desirable flavor, but otherwise, this is great! Check out the recipe after the jump, make your own now, if you haven't, and please be sure to comment about what flairs you add to the mix to make the perfect-tasting plain mayo.
...Flavored mayos will come soon...
Ricardo's Classic Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
1 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1 egg yolk, or 1 whole egg (depending on method chosen)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
pepper
Whisk Method:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, egg yolk, mustard, and salt. Add the first third of the oil drop-by-drop, whisking constantly. When the emulsion begins to form, add the remaining oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly. Season with pepper.
Food Processor/Blender Method:
Place the vinegar, whole egg, mustard, and salt in a food processor or blender. Cover and mix for a few seconds. Set the appliance to the lowest speed. With the machine running, add the oil in a thin, steady steam through the opening in the lid. The mayonnaise will emulsify quickly -- in less than a minute. If necessary, turn off the processor or blender and scrape the sides of the bowl so the blades can reach the ingredients.

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6-18-2008 @6:14PM Melissa A. said... This sounds good. I've been wanting to make my own but I was worried I'd have to make a lot, but this recipe seems to make a small amount.
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6-18-2008 @6:15PM Brandon said... I made essentially the same recipe a while back when I wanted to make some pasta salad and didn't have anything but my wife's "Miracle Whip" in the house. In the first attempt I used corn oil because I didn't want it to go bad (I only use it for certain types of roux) but I ended up starting over with canola oil. Corn oil has far too strong of a flavor.
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6-19-2008 @1:00PM IVIozartsGhost said... I think the Dutch have at least one thing right in that they like mayo on everything. Not only did I learn that from Pulp Fiction, but when I got to meet several Dutchies in Thailand, they officially introduced me to the whole mayo-fry combination. When I'm not counting the calories, I'll take extra mayo on my fries please.
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6-18-2008 @6:44PM Red Icculus said... I like to make mine with roasted chili peppers to spice up a sandwich.
http://red-icculus.com
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6-18-2008 @6:48PM Jlynn said... That sounds so great. How long does it last in the fridge?
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6-18-2008 @6:47PM Jay Brennan said... I never buy mayo anymore; I make it whenever I need it. My usual recipe uses a delicate olive oil that has almost no flavor on its own, mixed with a small amount of a mild olive oil. For the acid, a lemon and then additional vinegar, usually sherry, cider or champagne. I like my mayo a little heavy on the vinegar/lemon.
I also don't use the blender or food processor method, because the texture is different when made that way; I use my Kitchen Aid and I've never had the mayo break.
A good rule of thumb is one egg yolk can absorb one cup of oil, but I've gone as far as two cups of oil to one egg yolk. The more oil you add, the more likely the sauce will break
Lastly, if your sauce does break while making it, pour the broken sauce into a cup. Start with a fresh egg yolk, and add the broken sauce a bit at a time, just like you add the oil.
The egg yolks should be at room temperature, and I find the more you beat the yolks before you start adding oil, the more stable the emulsion seems to be while adding the oil. I usually beat the yolks, mustard, salt etc for about a minute before starting the oil
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6-18-2008 @9:41PM Monika said... Since I just made it this week, I can't tell you how long it lasts.. Maybe someone else can chime in?
However, as you can see, I did the processor method, with a full egg -- a very cold egg at that -- and had no problems.
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6-19-2008 @9:47AM Liz Newcomb said... If you want an amazing flavored mayo and like spicy food, add harissa. It's fantastic with fries or burgers or fish.
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6-19-2008 @10:46AM Goyo said... If you leave out the mustard and substitute 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, crushed, you will have alioli, the quintessential Spanish sauce.
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6-19-2008 @3:00PM Dartssnake said... Mayonnaise on French Fries (pommes frites) is popularly believed to be a Belgian thing. Netherlands agrees...sort of.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries
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6-20-2008 @1:51PM Cathy Kinney said... *chuckle* I get a kick out of watching people discover how easy and delicious homemade mayonaise can be.
When I was growing up, my dad was in charge of making mayo, and he used the recipe that the Wesson Oil folks promoted back in 1930s, along with their patented mayonaise maker. Heck, I even found a picture for y'all:
http://tinyurl.com/5wfuyp
The recipe is simple: One egg, one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon Coleman's dry mustard, a pinch of cayenne, a few dashes of paprika, two cups (one pint) of neutral flavored oil added slowly (I use canola nowadays) and at the end, as much lemon juice as suits your taste (I like at least a tablespoon or more). I've made this recipe in my parents' 1934 Hamilton Beach mixer, in a modern mixer, a food processor (really fast!) and of course, in the original mayo maker, which takes a bit of time and really exercises one's arm muscles. Absolutely yummy stuff any way you make it!
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6-21-2008 @12:23PM grapeshot said... I've made mayonnaise for myself before -- following Alton Brown's recipe. However, I'm not a big fan of mayo, especially most commercial mayonnaise. I once received a tube (yes, that's TUBE) of mayonnaise from Hungary, and that was the first time that I began to understand its appeal. The Hungarian mayo was light and almost buttery, and definitely a revelation, whereas I've always thought that Hellmans was heavy, greasy, and bland. Homemade is definitely better than commercial, but since I don't eat a lot of mayo, it usually ends up going bad on me.
Despite my ambivalence to mayonnaise, I usually have a jar of Hellmans always around (it has a longer shelf life), which I often use for cream-style salad dressings and dips. (Er...for salads made from GREENS, that is.)
I actually do like Miracle Whip too -- but in the same ambivalent way I like mayonnaise. I use it exclusively for tuna salad, and sometimes as a spread on lunchmeat sandwiches. I think it gives a zip to those particular dishes, and find that substituting mayonnaise makes those taste utterly bland.
My sister and I use the same recipe for tuna salad, and both of us consider it a "killer" recipe. What's curious, however, is that she insists that it only tastes good when made with mayonnaise, and I think it only tastes good when made with Miracle Whip. Maybe it's kind of like one of those yin/yang things, where there are two kinds of people: those who like Mayonnaise, and those who like Miracle Whip. Neither is wrong, and neither is right.
What I don't understand is the elitism that's conveyed by those of the Mayonnaise persuasion. Those of us who like Miracle Whip aren't ipso facto vulgar lowerclass ignorant rednecks who simply don't know better.
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6-23-2008 @1:06PM Fash said... I don't use enough mayo to consider making my own, and I feel like it's not the sort of thing that would be well received as a gift. Presenting co-workers with extra cookies, yes; extra jars of homemade mayo; no.
Also, I vastly prefer Miracle Whip to mayo in my tuna salad. Hey Grapeshot, want to share your killer recipe?
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