Small Dish of Home Made Mayonnaise
(click to enlarge)

Mayonnaise


Worldwide
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 1 cup
**
30 min
2 days		 Home made Mayonnaise is superior to any commercial product, provided a high quality oil is used. This recipe presents the traditional method, but takes Raymond Sokolov's advice to use Dijon mustard for greater stability - see Comments. See also Note-3 on egg safety.




1
1/4
1
1/2
1
tt

t
t
T
c

Egg Yolk, large  
Salt
Dijon Mustard
Lemon Juice
Oil (1)
Pepper (white)
Make:   -   (30 minutes (hand beaten - much faster by machine))
Caution: For one, or maybe even two recipes, don't use kitchen machinery, just a bowl and wire whip. The yolk sticks to the machine's container and the blades or beaters can't get to it, so there isn't enough for the oil and the sauce crashes. Some have success with an Imersion Blender.
  1. Set your EGG out long enough to come to room temperature. Separate the yolk from the white (use the white for something else).
  2. Place Egg, Salt and Dijon in the mixing bowl and whip together.
  3. Whipping continuously, very slowly dribble in just a little Oil until the mayonnaise "takes" and has a creamy consistency.
  4. Now whip in the LEMON JUICE, then continue adding Oil while whipping. The oil can be streamed in a little faster as you go. If it's getting too stiff to work, add just a tiny bit of water, and a mayonnaise that's too stiff may break.
  5. Whip in PEPPER to taste and adjust consistency with a touch of water if needed. Refrigerate and use in less than a week.
NOTES:

  1. Oil:

      Use Pure Olive Oil (lightly refined) rather than Virgin, for lighter flavor, and because Virgin interferes with oil emulsification. Olive Pomace and other refined oils can also be used.

  2. Repair:

      If your sauces starts to break, you can often repair it by beating in another teaspoon of Dijon. A badly broken sauce can be repaired by starting with a new egg yolk and feeding in the broken sauce as you would the oil.

  3. Raw Egg Yolk:

      This recipe requires calls for raw egg yolk. Here in "over regulated" California there have never been reports of salmonella poisoning from home cooking, and I would not hesitate to use this recipe here. If you live in a "business friendly" Red State like Iowa, you may want to think about it. If you have doubts, pasteurized eggs are commercially available (but tricky to make at home). You will find much more on egg handling and safety on our Eggs page.

  4. Commercial Mayo:

      Commercial products are convenient, safe, and can be kept refrigerated much longer. If you decide to use commercial, most food writers agree the one to use is Best Foods "Real Mayonnaise" (west of the Mississippi) or Hellmann's "Real Mayonnaise" (east of the Mississippi and Canada). These two are the same product.

  5. Comments:

      Raymond Sokolov explains that purists will claim mayonnaise doesn't include Dijon, but, "Purists will tell you anything so long as it makes your life more difficult". Historically, mayonnaise has contained a lot of different things at different times. If you do not use Dijon, the recipe will still work, but with a little more risk of it breaking down early. For newer methods and a method that uses lightly cooked egg yolks see Harold McGee's The Curious Cook.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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