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The difficult part in making it at home is not having it separate while you add the olive oil as it thickens. In Italian we say our mayonnaise is impazzita, "gone crazy" when that happens.
To avoid this, some experts suggest to make it alone, without exterior noises, or disturbances. Some even push it as far as saying not to make it during your menstrual cycle.
Nonsense, I make it all the time, with kids playing soccer in the living room, or with heavy metal blaring in the background. Here's how I prepare it, foolproof and craziness-free.
1 egg yolk
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 pinches dry mustard
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
150 ml (3⁄4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
Put the egg yolk, vinegar, mustard, and a little salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl and whisk until foamy and thoroughly blended. I use one of the small wood whisks pictured above, but a silicone whisk works well too
Tricky part.
Add 50 ml (1⁄4 cup) of the olive oil, a few drops at a time, whisking constantly.
Gradually add the rest of the oil in a thin, steady stream, continuing to whisk as the mayonnaise thickens.
Add 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice, and adjust seasonings if necessary. But the less you mess with mayo, the better.
Io mangio solo il maionese fatta in casa ;)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, homemade mayo is on a whole different level. The place I often run into trouble is actually pouring the oil in a steady stream while whisking - for me the bowl tends to move too much. I've found if you put a small sauce pan on the counter with a dish towel in it and the bowl on top, the handle of the saucepan will bump up against your side and stop the whole set up for moving - so you have two hands completely free to whisking and pour.
ReplyDeleteI have never made my own mayo, but I can definitely try this version. Grazie!
ReplyDeleteHi, Eleonora, my Fav Italian Gal.
ReplyDeleteRead this with interest because I am used only to buying crap sold in jars commercially but I am pleased to say I have never, nor will I now I have read your post, bought Mayonnaise sold in a tube. I will have a good go at making the real deal from your recipe/ Thanks. Hugs ~ Eddie
Andras~
ReplyDeleteBravo :)
Younginrome~
Good point. I make my mayo always in the same mixing bowl, which is a heavy ceramic contraption, perhaps exactly for that reason. I never really thought why, but I always do, and it doesn't move :)
Rosaria~
Oh, wow, and when you do... you'll never ever want to go back to Hellman's. Ever.
Eddie~
Let me know how it turns out, OK? ;)
Sounds like something I must try! How long does the mayo last in the frigo??
ReplyDeletePaul~
ReplyDeleteIt lasts about 2-3 days :) ciao
Good recipe! I had some tries years ago and it got crazy, so I try to avoid mayonnaise. But I`ll think of you and do it again!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for remembering Tessa!
Because I was waiting for the boys to agree that it was bedtime and because I had egg whites with nothing to do, I made this with the whites instead of the yolk. I would be interested what others think -- the recipe being essentially the same. Perhaps there is a proper name for it as another sauce. It seems to me to compare to mayonnaise as an omelet compares to a souffle -- the fundamental taste is the same but you have to catch it before it floats away. Perhaps with capers it would be a good companion for beef carpaccio.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the delightful blog and I look forward to your book.
Walt
Oops. I should say that the egg white mayonnaise compares to egg yolk mayonnaise as a souffle does to an omelet, not the other way around.
ReplyDeleteWalt
Walt~
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I've never thought of making mayo with egg whites, but it definitely sounds interesting. I'm sure it's foamy, how about flavor?
Not exactly foamy. I wanted it to still feel like mayo, so I added the mustard and lemon juice before whipping. A LOT of whipping, therefore, but still spreadable It tastes like mayo minus the heavy creaminess (which is fine in its place). It's an ethereal sort of taste, maybe like the difference between cake and angel food cake.
ReplyDeleteIf you want your mayonnaise to not separate in the fridge you can use sunflower oil. The reason mayo separates when in the fridge is because the oil thickens at low temperatures (such as when it goes cloudy if exposed to cold). Sunflower oil stays fluid at fridge temperature and your mayo remains emulsified.
ReplyDeleteOf course it doesn't have the same flavour (I even find that with 100% olive oil it's a bit bitter) but its still nothing like the crap in the jar.
I also find that adding the vinegar last retains its firm texture.
simple, easy but yet so yummy!! thanks for sharing this recipe.
ReplyDelete