Homemade Mayonnaise

I HATE MAYO! I'm sorry but I've never been the biggest fan. It's not about the fat and calories and cholesterol, it's the flavor. There's just something about it that I don't like. I can tolerate it - I won't have a mental breakdown if it's mistakenly spread on my sandwich; I just won't enjoy the sandwich as much.

You might be wondering, "Uh, if you hate mayo, why are you sharing a post about mayo?" I was making a spicy aioli (which will be shared in tomorrow's post) and aioli is essentially mayo with garlic. Since there are zero mayo fans in my house, we didn't have any in our fridge or pantry. And instead of running to the store to buy some, I decided to make some from scratch (because that's what I always seem to do). And then, I figured that since there may be people who like my blog that also like mayonnaise, I'd document it for those special people.

I will say that even though homemade mayo still has that can't-put-my-finger-on-what-it-is mayo flavor that I don't much care for, it's so much better than the store bought kind. It's quite fresh and creamy without being as heavy and the biggest benefit of all: there are no chemicals or I-don't-know-what-the-eff-that-is type of ingredients mixed in there. And as I always say, when you make things yourself you can adjust the flavors to your preferences. I added a ton of fresh cracked black pepper and that made it almost yummy for me.

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon dijon mustard (optional)

1/2 cup oil (olive oil, canola, vegetable, whatever you prefer)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

*it's easier to make the sauce if the ingredients are all the same temperature (i.e. room temperature, because who keeps their oil refrigerated?) but it's not necessary

Whisk together the egg yolk, lemon juice, and mustard. Drizzle in the oil slowly while whisking continuously until the mayo becomes thick. Season with salt and pepper. Most people use white pepper just for aesthetics but I'm not a fan of white pepper so I just used coarse black pepper. I think the speckled mayo actually looks quite pretty.

The mustard isn't necessary. I repeat: the mustard is not a necessary ingredient. However, it's an aid that basically guarantees that the emulsion will stay stable; it's insurance to prevent the sauce from breaking. Without the mustard, the potential for a "broken" sauce increases exponentially. You might've heard that oil and water don't mix, right? Well, an emulsion is basically oil and water mixed together. A broken sauce means the oily and non-oily ingredients separate. If this happens to you, don't discard the sauce because it can be saved! Just get another egg yolk, a drop of mustard, and slowly add in the broken sauce, spoonful by spoonful, whisking continuously and then whisk in another 1/4 cup of oil.

Keep this sauce refrigerated. The mayo will keep for 2 or 3 weeks. Without the preservatives, this won't last quite as long as that jarred junk. I'll be sharing the true purpose for this mayonnaise tomorrow so please come back!

Here's the recipe page: