# homemade mayo recipe



## bobtheman (Apr 13, 2015)

I have never made homemade mayo but keep reading/seeing people talk about how homemade mayo has better flavor than store bought.

I wanted to ask if this is generally true and worth the effort. I have a vitamix and thought it would be the right tool to try and make mayo.

From my understanding its simply egg yolk, some kind of oil, some seasoning, maybe a little mustard and vinegar

Is it ok if I use eggs bought from walmart - or would I be wasting my time if im not using fresh farm eggs?

That said - I need some ideas of what I would use a large amount of mayo with because im assuming it wont stay fresh for long. Maybe a large batch of potato salad.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

bobtheman said:


> I have never made homemade mayo but keep reading/seeing people talk about how homemade mayo has better flavor than store bought.
> 
> I wanted to ask if this is generally true and worth the effort.


The first time I experienced a mayo made with a bowl and hand whisk, I was blown away. I couldn't believe that it was even supposedly the same that is sold in jars. No comparison.

You can do it in a vita-mix, but hand made is even better. You can use eggs from Walmart, but farm fresh eggs are even better. There seems to be a pattern developing here. Bottom line, mayo is easy, quick, and well worth the effort. Parameters to be set by maker.

Emulsification, the technique used in making mayo, is a great cornerstone to many other recipes and well worth learning and grasping the how and whys behind. Go for it and don't look back!


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

Some time ago I came across a recipe for mayonaisse made with a stick blender and tried it out.

It works and takes no time at all.

You can actually use a whole egg for it, and it still works.

Just make sure the ingredients are all at room temperature.

Here are some of the links:

Some use only egg yolk, some olive oil (I wouldn't use all olive oil though, I find that a bit too strong), but you will get the idea:

http://thehealthyfoodie.com/fail-proof-home-made-paleo-mayo-whole30-compliant/

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/10/the-food-lab-homemade-mayo-in-2-minutes-or-le.html


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Homemade mayo is a breeze to make and you can make pretty small batches that you can use up quickly.  I'm sure I have a number of recipes around, but I don't ever follow a recipe for making mayo.  At home, when I make it, I use 2 yolks, approximately 1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, a squeeze of lemon juice or splash of vinegar (usually cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar) and salt.  I whisk that together and then very slowly start adding vegetable oil.  Start really slow to develop your emulsification.  Once you have a good, solid emulsification you can drizzle a little more quickly, but never too fast or your emulsification will break.  I'm not sure but I probably add about 6 oz. of oil per yolk.

From this basic mayo recipe you can get creative, using different oils, different vinegars, adding herbs or shallots or garlic.


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## luis de vence (Jun 5, 2015)

Super simple and done in a couple minutes. The taste is by far better than the store bought prepped mayo, and that feeling of pride you get when you finish preparing and it turns out awesome!

Some tips:

Use some smoked oil for an intense smoky taste in your mayo. Achieve this by heating up your favorite type of charcoal, hardwood or even pressed coconut shell and once its thoroughly lit drop it into a bowl with your oil and cover it with foil and let it rest for thirty minutes.
Then strain it and use the oil to make the mayo. You can use an amount of smoked oil with neutral oil to ease the smoky flavor.

You can use roasted mustard seeds instead of prepared mustard or drop a garlic in there instead. We traditionally use mustard because its contains phospholipids that help stabilize our emulsion.

Think of a spanish aioli, and how its pretty much an emulsion of garlic and oil.

I don't really notice a difference in taste between hand whisked and blended mayo. Honestly, I prefer the practicality of blended.

So in a blender, just drop your egg yolks, a dash of lime juice, your mustard or garlic, salt and seasonings. Pulse to break up yolk, then turn on medium and slowly pour in the oil. It will start to emulsify in seconds.

Looking forward to your results!


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## jake t buds (May 27, 2013)

butzy said:


> Some time ago I came across a recipe for mayonaisse made with a stick blender and tried it out.
> 
> It works and takes no time at all.
> 
> ...


Yes. What I like about using the whole egg is. . .well . . . no saving egg whites. I also make a base mayo and then add ingredients to flavor it. Smashed roasted garlic, blitzed roasted red pepper, chipotle, etc. I've never had it break with olive oil, but I like the serious eats method of using neutral oil to get it started with a stick blender, and then whisk in EVOO at the end by hand.


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

> I've never had it break with olive oil, but I like the serious eats method of using neutral oil to get it started with a stick blender, and then whisk in EVOO at the end by hand.


I always use a neutral oil as the base of my mayo and add other oils, for flavoring, if necessary. Even with EVOO, I find making mayo with it exclusiviely, not to my liking. Of course that's just my personal opinion, but when using EVOO, in mayo I start with a neutral oil and finish with the olive oil and usually end up with a ratio of about 60-70% neutral oil with the remainder being olive oil.


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## bobtheman (Apr 13, 2015)

I saw a video of a chef basically dropping his eggs into boiling water for a second and then into an ice bath for the purpose of killing any bacteria on the outer shell.

Should I bother with this?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

If store bought commercial eggs...no. If fearful...buy pasteurized.


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## fbreck1 (Jun 20, 2016)

If you own a vita-mix don't bother making by hand. The machine blade will create a much thicker emulsion that will last longer. Add 2 egg yolks and a tablespoon of creole mustard in the vita-mix. Cut on medium high and slowly drizzle in the canola oil (I use canola for it's neutral flavor) from the top. It's important to start off slow to form the emulsion. Once it starts to get thick you can pour in a more steady stream. I use up 1/2 cup of canola oil for this recipe. At the end I add lemon juice and salt for seasoning. Food science dictates that adding salt and lemon juice to egg yolks at the beginning will help the emulsion. This is correct. When using a vita-mix or a blender you will generally have no trouble forming a nice stable emulsion. So, I like to add the lemon juice to taste at the end.


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## fbreck1 (Jun 20, 2016)

My advice is use raw eggs but buy free range of organic. This drastically reduces the chances of catching salmonella. I have been making my own mayo for a while and have never gotten sick


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## chefshanes (Jun 19, 2016)

bobtheman said:


> I have never made homemade mayo but keep reading/seeing people talk about how homemade mayo has better flavor than store bought.
> 
> I wanted to ask if this is generally true and worth the effort. I have a vitamix and thought it would be the right tool to try and make mayo.
> 
> ...


mayonnaise is a foundation technique for cold emulsion sauces. its a joke that shows like masterchef make ludicrous claims (during episodes for dramatic effect) that mayonnaise is a difficult process, actually its the opposite, nothing can be more simple. if you cant make mayonnaise and know how to correct it (if it splits) then you have no future in cookery. never having made it is acceptable, but not being able to make it after repeated attempts is not.

tradition hold that it should be made be hand, but anything that allows you to make the sabayon, and gadually add the oil/fat will work. you can use bowl/whisk, stick blender, stand mixer, food processor like robotcoupe, and even a cream whipper though this is best used to add extra aeration rather than being a replacement of the fundamental process.

just to clarify some of the basic science, an acid (mustard, vinegar, lemon juice) is not a "maybe" but a prerequisite.

the acid allow the formation of the sabayon (reaction with the egg yolks) into which the oil/fat can be emulsified, so making the mayonnaise (cold) or hollandaise (hot/warm).

any eggs can be used, theres no need to use free range eggs for something that doesn't capitalize on the benefits of such quality. and contrary to what fbreck1 says, free range or organic has absolutely nothing to do with "reducing chances of salmonella", what does reduce salmonella is pasteurization which you can do by Sous-Vide the eggs for 75 minutes @ 57C/135F and really is only required when the eggs are direct from the farm as retail eggs in most developed countries such as USA etc already demand this as standard.

some recipes call for extra virgin olive oil, but I have found this tastes too "plastic" for most purposes, and only necessary where the mayo will be used in a way that requires, such as you want the taste of extra virgin. the first time you make it do it on the cheap and use canola or any nasty oil, just so you can learn whats happening. and for standard I use a half and half amounts of canola and extra light olive oil with the end product being quite inexpensive and suitable for derivative sauces such as tartare, gribach, or cocktail sauce (salsa rosa).

yes you can use whole egg too, but something to be aware of is the egg whites will, over time, bleed from the mixture and create an unpleasant yellowish skin on the exposed (top) surface. the way to deal with this is to either skim it off the top if its too crusty, or if you intend to use every day then just give the mixture a good stir every day. generally making with the egg white included is for fast production such as when you really need more as soon as possible, but in general without the egg whites will yield a far superior (stable) product... also note that egg whites is not a replacement for egg yolks but can be considered a replacement for the need to add water to correct consistency, but if your recipe is good without the whites then the egg whites are allowed and wont necessarily thin the mixture, the best way to think of the egg whites is that it is more forgiving method.

points to make an emulsion sauce:

yolks and acid, whisk or blend until foamy.

slowly add the oil/fat

repair:

if the mixture splits (which you should force the first time you make it so you can get this "lesson" done and out of the way) then get a fresh container with a small amount of hot water, and add the split mixture a bit at a time until all the mixture has been "corrected"

to force a "split" just add the oil/fat too fast and watch as the split reaction occurs, or just keep on adding oil/fat until the mixture can not hold more oil and it collapses the emulsion.

note:

the better you initial sabayon (balance of yolk and acid, and how well you have foamed it) is then the more oil the mixture can hold.

I have never had any shop bought mayonnaise ever taste anything like real mayonnaise, and also it does not have the same mouth feel, and home mayonnaise I can modify its viscosity (liquid or quite firm) to suit the application. hme mayo is also much healthier because you know its ust egg yolk, acid (vinegar, lemon juice etc) and your oil of choice... no preservatives, nothing artificial.


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