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Monday 29 July 2013

Is Making Mayonnaise Easy?

I'd say it is! ~


I'm a lover of mayo.  I'd request my mom's egg salad for my last meal.  But, I must make a confession!  The mayonnaise I loved was Miracle Whip.  I know it's just an edible oil product and has nothing to do with actual whole food, but I loved that oily, fake, stuff!

The only thing that made me give up my dirty, little secret was my commitment to not use eggs from cruel factory farm conditions. When Hellman's switched to free range eggs, I switched to Hellman's.  Then I found out that mayonnaise has EDTA in it to stabilise the oil and preserve the shelf life.  If you want to find out why this is a bad thing, click here.

In the back of my mind was a picture of my grandma making mayonnaise and serving it in a little, crystal bowl at dinner.  Why not give it a try?  I didn't have my grandma's recipe and took the first one I came across in my cookbooks.

Gather your ingredients. Yeah, I know the eggs yolks look like a bum. ~


You will need: 
2 egg yolks (warmed to room temperature)
1 whole egg (room temperature)
1 TBS. lemon juice
1 TSP. Dijon mustard (optional and I didn't use it)
1/2 TSP. salt (I used sea salt)
white pepper (tastes the same but you don't have black bits floating around)
2 cups oil  

My grandma whisked her mayo by hand but I have the luxury of a food processor.  You could use a mix master or blender for this as well.

Put egg yolks, whole egg (do I have to tell you to remove the shell?), lemon juice, salt, pepper and any flavour you want to add to your condiment into a bowl and whip until creamy.  This took about 10 seconds. ~


I could have made a special mayonnaise by flavouring this with the Dijon mustard or finely minced garlic or basil or dill for Aioli.  Really, any thing you dream up is okay at this point.  I wanted a very basic mayonnaise and left the embellishment for another time.

You can use any healthy oil for the next step.  An oil that stays liquid when refrigerated is recommended to stop the mayo from separating in storage.  For that reason, you are supposed to use regular olive oil instead of extra virgin olive oil or a similar liquid oil such as sunflower.  I only had extra virgin olive oil and that's what I used.  The mayonnaise hasn't separated in 24 hrs. and even if it did, I could reconstitute it by adding another egg and whisking it again.

The next step sounded tricky and wasn't at all.  While the machine is running, start feeding a very tiny stream of oil into the egg mixture.  Keep an eye on it to make sure the oil is blending with the eggs.  Add about 10% of the oil and stop pouring while the machine whisks for another 30 seconds.  Start pouring again and repeat. Continue to add the oil in the stop/start fashion until the mixture begins to thicken.  Then, you can add the oil in a continuous, thin stream until it is all mixed with the eggs.  I found I had reached the consistency of mayonnaise I wanted without using the full 2 cups of oil.  

That looks about perfect to me and took about 5 mins. to make from start to finish! ~


Mayonnaise is very forgiving.  If you get it too thick, add some more lemon juice and whisk to thin it.  If it's too thin, add some more oil.  The key to having your mayonnaise turn out great is to use very fresh eggs. The simplest way of testing for freshness is to cover the egg with water.  A very fresh egg will lay on its side. A less fresh egg will stand up and bob in the water.  A spoiled egg floats on the top and shouldn't be used at all.

How did the mayonnaise taste?  Delicious! ~


And that, my friends, brings us to the end of the ~


I've tried a few new things that I know will be part of my daily lifestyle.  None of them were overly time consuming or difficult to do.  I've had great conversations with the people who grow and handle the food I eat and great conversations with my readers about this challenge.  

No matter how busy my week became, I've managed to stick with the challenge and eat well although I never had more than 30 mins. free to make a meal.  I'm hoping I can keep that in mind the next time I think I only have time to grab a sandwich.  The truth is, I feel great!

Thanks for cheering me along on the challenge and, in the words of the immortal Julia Child, Bon Appetit!

I'm sharing this great recipe with:  Funky Junk Party Junk

15 comments:

  1. Hi Maureen! I've had fun spending a little time catching up on some of your posts that I have missed. Girl, you have been busy! Love your new roof. One time I made mayonnaise and was amazed that the individual products actually made mayo when they were all mixed together. I'll bet yours tastes better than anything we could buy. My husband is from South Carolina and won't eat any mayo but "Dukes".

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  2. You did great Maureen! What a week you've had! The mayo looks scrumptious and is making my mouth water for a BLT & Mayo on toast! Thanks for the recipe! xo wendy

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  3. When my kids were little I used to make my own mayo. I haven't made it in years though. I think I quit with all the scare stories about consuming raw eggs. Good for you for keeping up with the healthy food program! xo Diana

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  4. I tried making mayo once and it was an unqualified disaster. You make it look easy. I guess now I have to give it another go...

    -andi

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  5. I've always wanted to try making mayo, but my problem is how long it lasts in the fridge as I don't use mayo that often. (maybe more in the summer) How long does your recipe last Maureen?

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  6. Amazing how easy that is. I want to try. We use Hellman's at home, and didn't know anything about EDTA. Interesting... and i really like your tip about the eggs too...

    Cindy

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  7. Congratulations on completing your 7-day challenge, it's been great to read all about it. The fact that you feel great speaks volumns !
    We have an alternative to mayonnaise over here, called salad cream and I prefer it. During periods of rationing, it was cheaper to create salad cream than mayo, and then companies started producing it, but I've never attempted either.

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  8. I'm starting to think you are really my oldest son's mother. He swears by home made mayo. I have yet to try it, he told me I'd never go back to the store stuff.

    Bliss

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  9. Wow... you did it! Congrats! I've been following along really appreciate you sharing all the info. Your mayo looks delicious!

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  10. Congrats on completing it! The mayo looks delicious, Julian loves mayo but hates eggs, go figure! I think I have to try a homemade version

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  11. Fantastic Maureen! I'm so glad you joined us for the challenge.
    I love the mayo recipe. Thanks for sharing!

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  12. I have never made mayonnaise, but I just tasted some chipotle mayo that was awesome and i'm gong to try it with your recipe as a base. Sam's mom makes some killer mustard too!

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  13. Good for you on the 7 day challenge.
    I worked in a restaurant in Switzerland years and years ago and they made their mayonnaise fresh daily. It was a treat...hmmm...might go back to that. I find more and more that I prefer to take time to eat the food I really want to eat, knowing where it came from and how good it can taste.

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  14. I love homemade mayo but I don't make it often it enough. So easy with a food processor!

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  15. OH I can see grandma's little mayo dish so clearly. Thanks for taking on this challenge which has pushed me to eat better.
    Lynn

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