Amazing Mayonnaise

Treat yourself this summer

For a sauce with fairly uncontroversial ingredients – egg, oil, water, and salt – mayonnaise inspires polarized views.   Either you love it or you find it gag-inducingly repulsive.  I suspect it’s a texture thing – it’s either perceived as smooth and creamy or slimy and snot-like, a deeply personal outlook that’s hard to dislodge.

But I’m on Team Mayo and summer food wouldn’t be complete without it.  Toasted tomato sandwiches with a slick spread, crisp fries dunked in Dijon-enhanced goodness, and creamy herb-flecked potato salad.  I’m hungry just daydreaming about it.

And I’ll be honest, the stuff you can get in a jar has improved a fair bit in recent years – olive oil and/or avocado oil options, Japanese kewpie mayo (if you find it, buy it!) and various flavour-enhanced options with garlic, chipotle, ketchup, and even truffle.  I could forgive you if you feel like the grocery store can handle all your mayo-needs.

But in recent months I’ve become increasingly mis-trustful of the grocery supply chain and am reminded that it is always useful to know how to make things, even if I don’t intend to do it very often.  And mayonnaise is one of those things – it has simple ingredients and is really rather easy to make. And you know what? It IS just better.

For whatever reason, mayonnaise did not make the cut to become one of the Mother Sauces, though it truly deserves such elevation.  It’s an emulsion of oil and liquid, emulsified by the lecithin in egg yolk and a bit of elbow grease.   It’s the technique that separates it from a simple oily mess, and it has numerous derivative sauces that are all accessible once you master the fundamentals. 

The basic process is simple:  whisk oil into an egg yolk until emulsified and creamy.  While you would think this would be a ratio recipe that specifies X number of egg yolks and X amount of oil, it really doesn’t matter as much as you might expect.  Older recipe books, including the venerable Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, are quite specific about quantities and ratios.  Modern science, however, has determined that even one egg yolk can emulsify several quarts of oil, which is more than most home cooks would even attempt. But since messing around with partial yolks would be a pain (no one has time for that), consider one yolk adequate for your small-batch needs.

More important appears to be the quantity of liquid (water, lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) to quantity of oil, but even there it’s not that important:  if you think 2-3 teaspoons per cup of oil you’ll be just fine. The liquid you pick is up to you - water will do the trick, but fresh lemon juice or a vinegar (even balsamic!) is an opportunity to add flavour and customize. You can even combine them - part vinegar and part water, or whatever suits your taste buds.

A word about the oil. While technically speaking the options are many, straying from the neutral oils (canola, sunflower, avocado, etc.) might be risky the first time out. Many stronger flavoured oils like walnut, pistachio, sesame, and others could be quite overwhelming, so it would be wise to start with substituting only part of the neutral oil with something bold to try it out. Famous French Chef Joël Robuchon even warned off olive oil as unsuitable for mayonnaise, but I suspect he may have been referring to more fruity and aromatic oils (that usually come with a hefty price tag) and not the grocery store varieties that I’ve used with perfectly good results. He also warned against grapeseed and corn oils as they have a tendency to firm up at fridge temperatures. I can’t really argue with a Chef who accumulated 32 Michelin stars so consider yourself informed as well.

Mustard is a frequent addition to mayonnaise, and not only because it’s tasty. Mustard, like the lecithin in egg yolk, is an emulsifier and a little bit helps ensure your mayo remains stable. Consider it optional, but the taste alone recommends it.

Let’s give this a go, shall we?

The Gear:

• Large bowl

• Whisk (or electric mixer)

• Kitchen towel

• Measuring spoons

• Measuring cup (with spout)

The Ingredients (all at room temperature):

• 1 Egg Yolk

• 1 cup oil (of your choice)

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• 2-3 teaspoons liquid (water, vinegar, lemon, or some combo thereof)

• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional but recommended)

The Technique:

• Secure your mixing bowl to your countertop with either a damp towel underneath, or a towel ring. You will be whisking/mixing and pouring at the same time and you don’t want your bowl to dance off the counter.

  

• Add the yolk, salt, liquid, and mustard to the bowl at whisk/mix to combine and to thoroughly dissolve the salt.

  

• While whisking, add the oil first a few drops at a time, then in a thin stream (you can start and stop as your arm tires).

  

• In a few moments you will notice the mayonnaise “catch” or start thickening slightly. Keep whisking.

  

• As you continue whisking continue adding oil. Soon it will start looking like real mayo. As it thickens you can add the oil a little faster.

  

• When you have added about 3/4 of your oil, stop for a moment to taste. It may yet be a bit acidic/salty, but if it is bland you can add a bit more vinegar or mustard. If you must add more salt, dissolve the salt in a teaspoon or so of water before adding (salt doesn’t dissolve in oil).

• Finish adding the oil and continue to whisk for a moment. Taste and adjust seasoning again.

  

On the off chance that your mayo splits, or if you’ve added the oil too quickly and it won’t emulsify, you’ve got an easy cure. Dump the oily mayo mess into a measuring cup or other vessel with a spout, add a tablespoon or so of HOT water to your bowl and stream/spoon the broken sauce into the water, whisking constantly. Essentially, you’re starting over. And yep, the hot water trick works for other cold emulsified sauces too….now you know!

A few thoughts on flavourings. If you plan to keep your mayonnaise for more than a day, only add additional flavour to the portion you intend to use right away. While there are many delicious things you can add like shallots, fresh herbs, garlic, etc. these will taste pretty funky and weird if they sit too long. Fresh garlic, in particular, has the power to make mayo pretty gross as it ages. The germ (the greenish sprout) inside a clove of garlic contains a lot enzymes that mess with mayo, so if you insist on adding garlic, do yourself a service and remove the germ first. And while we’re on the subject, adding garlic to your mayo does NOT make it aioli, but that’s a topic for another day.

A jar of home made mayonnaise is a great thing to have in the fridge this summer - it’s a complement to fish, vegetables, salads, and all the summery sandwiches. Even if you reach for the store-bought stuff for most of the year you should treat yourself while the summer produce lasts. Those beautiful ripe tomatoes are worth the effort, and so are you.