I used to think that homemade mayonnaise was a condiment best left to the experts, as I’d heard that making it was fraught with difficulties. On a do-it-myself kick a few years back (well before I started being extremely frugal), I was bold enough to try making this and have never looked back since.
Homemade Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 c oil (any kind will do)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp prepared mustard (optional)
2 tbsp whey (optional)
Equipment Needed:
Whisk/Beater/Mixer/Immersion Blender
AND a Deep Cup or Bowl
OR Food Processor/Blender
Instructions:
Step 1. Beat (I’m using this word to mean whatever it is you’ll be be doing with your beater, blender, mixer, or food processor) your egg for one whole minute or longer. Do not skip or cut short this step, or your mayonnaise will fail.
Step 2a. If you’re using a blender, food processor, or mixer on a stand, or if you have an assistant to give you an extra set of hands, after that first minute is up, pour a very slow steady stream of oil into your egg while it is still being beaten.
Step 2b. If you don’t have your hands free, because, like me you’re using an immersion blender or beater or whisk, pour one teaspoon of oil into the egg, beat for 10 seconds, add 1 more teaspoon, beat some more, until all the required oil has been combined with the egg.
Note: When you’ve already poured in a quarter of your oil, the egg should start thickening up. If it is still as runny as when you started, the mayonnaise has most likely failed- but DON’T THROW THAT OUT YET!– see the flop fix tip at the bottom of this post.
Step 3. When you’ve finished adding all your oil, you should have a mayonnaise, albeit a very bland version, the same texture and consistency as the store bought variety. If it looks like mayo but is a little looser, add more oil, incrementally, until it is the thickness you desire. (Yes, paradoxically, the more oil you add, the thicker it will be, provided you don’t add the oil too quickly.)
Step 4. Mix in the salt, lemon juice, and mustard, adding more or less to taste.
Step 5. Making it lacto fermented. (Optional) Add 2 tablespoons of homemade whey to the mayonnaise, and then leave it on your warm counter for 24 hours, before putting it in the fridge. Doing so allows the lactobacillus probiotics in your whey to multiply and changes your mayo from a simple condiment to a probiotic. This has the added benefit of extending its shelf life, as the lactobacillus colony doesn’t allow spoilage causing bacteria to spread as quickly.
To make whey, take your homemade yogurt and strain it overnight in a cheesecloth, catching the liquid that drips out. This liquid is whey, and what remains in the cheesecloth is yogurt cheese, a delicious cream cheese alternative.
Notes:
Oil types– Any oil or fat will work for this, provided it is at a liquid state when preparing the mayo. Vegetable oils, coconut, palm, nut, olive oils can all be used, as can liquefied animal fats such as lard, beef tallow, ghee, or chicken fat. Keep in mind that if you plan on refrigerating this condiment or anything made with the mayo, that only oils that remain liquid when cold will allow the mayonnaise to keep its texture once refrigerated. Mayonnaise made with more solid oils, like tallow or palm oil will develop a butter like consistency once refrigerated, and therefore should be prepared right before consumption.
Flop Fix Tip– If your mayo flopped, you’ll have a thin runny liquid instead of the desired condiment. This isn’t a problem. For your re-do, you can reuse the same ingredients as before, just add an extra egg. To fix your flop, beat your new egg, but for longer this time than you originally did. Now you simply use the flopped mayo instead of the oil this recipe calls for. This time, add the oil much more slowly than last time. Adding too much oil at one time is usually the reason for the flop. To ensure that the mayo doesn’t flop the second time around, make sure to beat the egg longer, and beat the mixture for longer in between each time that you add your very scant teaspoon of oil.
Given up on making mayo once it flopped? I can understand. Once it took me till try number 3 to get it right!
Instead of throwing out the flopped mayo or trying again to make mayo, you can use the flopped mayo in most recipes that call for oil. The flopped mayo works especially well in salads, etc.
Have you ever made homemade mayo? How do you make it? How many tries before you got it right?
This is part of Pennywise Platter Thursday, Fight Back Friday, and Foodie Friday.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Lacto-fermented recipes:
Homemade Easy Sauerkraut
Lacto-fermented Pickles
Homemade Yogurt
Don’t Throw That Out Yet:
Marinated Cucumber Salad– using up soft and wilted cucumbers
Chicken Scrap Soup
Vegetable Scrap Soup
Spoiled Milk Pancakes– using spoiled milk as a buttermilk replacement
