Mayonnaise is one of those grocery store staples that I just always keep on hand. I've never really been interested in trying to make my own from scratch. I know the theory, but I'm not particularly interested in trying to do it in practice. I've made a mayonnaise-like remoulade before, so I know I can do it. But, overall, I prefer the ease of buying it from the store.

Unfortunately, we ran out of mayo a couple days ago. TF and I were both sure that we had another jar in the pantry, but apparently we were wrong. It turns out that a lot of our go-to breakfasts use mayo these days. So, what's a hungry foodie to do? Time to remind myself of the details and give homemade mayo a go!

This whole process was a little nerve-racking. I knew that mayo was essentially just an emulsion of eggs and oil with some seasonings added. It's a very simple recipe ingredient-wise. The problem is the technique. If you add the oil too fast or don't beat it enough, you can end up with a "broken", soupy egg slurry rather than a flavourful, creamy spread. You can make emulsions like this with just a whisk and muscle power -- I've done it before -- but a blender or a food processor gives you more mixing with less effort. It's very important to beat/mix the mixture constantly and to add the oil very slowly. If you don't, the mixture won't thicken and form a proper emulsion and you'll end up with a soupy mess that's more like seasoned oil than anything resembling mayonnaise.

I knew this and I did add the oil very, very slowly. Even so, it seemed like my mixture was just getting thinner and thinner. I was already making contingency plans and thinking about how I was going to rescue this horribly broken mayo. I wondered if I should just stop now and fail over to my rescue plan. Luckily I decided to see it through. After adding oil in ~1mL increments for what felt like forever, the mixture finally started to thicken up. I think I'd added ~1/3 of the oil before it started to look like it might be thinking about being anything other than oil soup. Once it hit that point though, it came together really quickly. So, if your mayo looks like soup, don't immediately give up. Keep going and there's a chance it'll come together by the time you've reached the end of the process. (And if it doesn't you can always try to rescue it with an extra egg yolk. Beat an egg yolk and then very slowly beat the broken mayo into the yolk. Sometimes the extra emulsification power from the second yolk is enough to bring it together and rescue it.)

The recipe I used listed lemon juice as an optional ingredient at the end. I didn't want to disassemble a whole lemon just for the sake of a teaspoon of juice, so I left it out. While I am quite pleased with the results I achieved, I do think that the added brightness from a little bit of lemon juice would have been nice. If you happen to have a lemon handy, I would recommend adding it.

Mayonnaise

Slightly adapted from Inspired Taste

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 1 Tbsp. red or white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. lemon juice (optional, but recommended)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt¹
• 1 c. neutral oil

Directions

1. Beat egg vigorously for 20-30 seconds (preferably in a blender or food processor).
2. Add mustard, vinegar, lemon juice (if using) and salt and beat for another 20-30 seconds.
3. While continuing to be vigorously, being adding oil very, very slowly. No more than 1mL at a time!
4. Once mayo begins to thicken (which should happen once you've added 1/4-1/3 of the oil), you can add the remaining oil slightly faster. Keep it slow and steady, but you can being to pour it in a thin stream rather than just a few drops/1mL at a time.
5. Once all the oil has been incorporated, give it a stir and beat vigorously for another 10-20 seconds.
6. Adjust seasoning to taste and beat again if necessary.

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¹ I only used 1/4 tsp. of salt this time. The results were good, but I think I'd be tempted to use a little more next time. ^Back