Life's too short for chopping & mixing

[Andy M.]

Blender, FP, immersion blender would all work to make a good mayonnaise.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

It occurs to me that I have both a Cuisinart stick blender and a Cuisinart food processor.

TL I'm a bit confused to which appliance you are referring to.

 

[taxlady]

It occurs to me that I have both a Cuisinart stick blender and a Cuisinart food processor.

TL I'm a bit confused to which appliance you are referring to.

Immersion blender with a mini food processor attachment and a whisk attachment.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Ah, okay. We prolly have the same Cuisinart stick blender.

This pretty much looks like the one I've got, except the photo doesn't show the whisk.

I like it although I haven't really used it as much as I should have. I can almost see my mayonnaise in that cup/jar shown at right.

I've gotten really enthusiastic since I read Ratio and got all interested in testing the author's claim that home made mayonnaise is a lot better than store bought.

I pretty much believe him. And the gang here on the forum seems to agree with the hypothesis too.

 

[CWS4322]

Ah, okay. We prolly have the same Cuisinart stick blender.

This pretty much looks like the one I've got, except the photo doesn't show the whisk.

I like it although I haven't really used it as much as I should have. I can almost see my mayonnaise in that cup/jar shown at right.

I've gotten really enthusiastic since I read Ratio and got all interested in testing the author's claim that home made mayonnaise is a lot better than store bought.

I pretty much believe him. And the gang here on the forum seems to agree with the hypothesis too.

I personally like homemade mayo. There are pros and cons to making mayo. You won't get the shelf-life. It doesn't freeze (neither does commercial). You get to select the oil you use. You can play with the number of yolks. You can make it with the whole egg. You can flavor it as you wish (you can do that with commercial mayo too). You experience the thrill of having it all come together as a perfect mayo. And, it really doesn't take that long.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

It's interesting, I recall in Ratio that the author said you need only one yolk (no white) and it doesn't depend on the amount of oil and water. That's within reason of course. Nobody is going to try making a gallon of mayonnaise with just one yolk. (I'm pretty sure I remember this right, the author's point of the whole book was ratios of ingredients, including exceptions.)

When I get my stuff out of storage, including the stick blender, I'll be in acquisition mode and get his book and give the mayonnaise recipe a try. Everybody says home made is better than store, and nobody has argued against that.

 

[taxlady]

Ah, okay. We prolly have the same Cuisinart stick blender.

This pretty much looks like the one I've got, except the photo doesn't show the whisk.

I like it although I haven't really used it as much as I should have. I can almost see my mayonnaise in that cup/jar shown at right.

I've gotten really enthusiastic since I read Ratio and got all interested in testing the author's claim that home made mayonnaise is a lot better than store bought.

I pretty much believe him. And the gang here on the forum seems to agree with the hypothesis too.

Nope, mine looks like this:

But, pretty much the same thing, I guess. I think mine is prettier.

I don't find that big a difference between homemade mayo and Hellmans mayo. I used to make it all the time, back in the early '80s. Then I tested and found that Hellmans jars were safe for canning, so if I counted the cost of the jar (I did a fare bit of canning back then), it was cheaper to buy Hellmans than to make it.

Nowadays, I would need to find pasteurized eggs. I do not want to go through the effort of pasteurizing them myself, not for mayo that's only a little bit better than store bought.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Nope, mine looks like this:

... (picture deleted)

But, pretty much the same thing, I guess. I think mine is prettier.

I recall a bit of my confusion now, my Hamilton-Beach has the stirring attachment. It also has two speeds, and I like that feature! I like both of my stick blenders and they're inexpensive enough to not worry about the price.

I don't find that big a difference between homemade mayo and Hellmans mayo. I used to make it all the time, back in the early '80s. Then I tested and found that Hellmans jars were safe for canning, so if I counted the cost of the jar (I did a fare bit of canning back then), it was cheaper to buy Hellmans than to make it.

I used to repurpose jars for canning too. Why not? Free jar, although the lids aren't as fancy as the two part lids where you can see the vacuum suck in the diaphragm.

Nowadays, I would need to find pasteurized eggs. I do not want to go through the effort of pasteurizing them myself, not for mayo that's only a little bit better than store bought.

This is the first mention I've seen of needing pasteurized eggs. None of the recipes I've seen suggested that (both Internet and in the book Prime). Is that really necessary? I sometimes eat raw eggs in various recipes (have been since I was a kid) and I've never had any problem with eggs.

 

[taxlady]

...

I used to repurpose jars for canning too. Why not? Free jar, although the lids aren't as fancy as the two part lids where you can see the vacuum suck in the diaphragm.

The Helmanns jars back then fit a canning lid! That was why I saved them. Also, I never had one of those break in the hot water bath, but occasionally had a brand new canning jar break while canning.

This is the first mention I've seen of needing pasteurized eggs. None of the recipes I've seen suggested that (both Internet and in the book Prime). Is that really necessary? I sometimes eat raw eggs in various recipes (have been since I was a kid) and I've never had any problem with eggs.

CWS mentioned that she pasteurizes the egg yolks. The recipe for mayo in the booklet that came with my immersion blender says to use Egg Beaters or some other pasteurized egg product.

When you were a kid, I don't think the raw egg risk was as high. Salmonella isn't very common, but I hear it is extremely unpleasant. It's also fairly serious for the immune deficient and the elderly. We may not be quite elderly yet, but we ain't spring chickens.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

The Helmanns jars back then fit a canning lid! That was why I saved them.

It's been so long that I forgot until now, you reuse the jars but throw away the lids and get new each year.

We may not be quite elderly yet, but we ain't spring chickens.

I haven't been doing much clucking lately...

I don't know, maybe I'm an idiot. I'll probably use a raw egg anyway.

Or not. I just Googled the instructions and not that hard. 140F for 3 minutes, then cold water. I'm really interested in getting a sous vide... Yeah, I know that would be way over-kill.

 

[blissful]

It's been so long that I forgot until now, you reuse the jars but throw away the lids and get new each year.



I haven't been doing much clucking lately...

I don't know, maybe I'm an idiot. I'll probably use a raw egg anyway.

Or not. I just Googled the instructions and not that hard. 140F for 3 minutes, then cold water. I'm really interested in getting a sous vide... Yeah, I know that would be way over-kill.

If I understand pasturizing correctly, just heat to 180 degrees F and you are pasturized.......well, your egg is.

 

[taxlady]

If I understand pasturizing correctly, just heat to 180 degrees F and you are pasturized.......well, your egg is.

Yes, but then it's "hard boiled" and not a lot of use for making mayo. There are all kinds of techniques on the web for pasteurizing egg yokes and egg whites, so you can still use them for sauces or meringues.

Pasteurized might be an inaccurate term for it, but heated enough to kill salmonella.

 

[blissful]

Yes, but then it's "hard boiled" and not a lot of use for making mayo. There are all kinds of techniques on the web for pasteurizing egg yokes and egg whites, so you can still use them for sauces or meringues.

Pasteurized might be an inaccurate term for it, but heated enough to kill salmonella.

You are right, it's 140 degrees F. Pickles are 180 degrees F. I'm surprised you didn't mention the temperature, maybe you've never done it. It doesn't matter really. Pasteurizing doesn't seem that tough of a thing to do, three minutes at 140 degrees F, to make it safe.

 

[Skittle68]

The Helmanns jars back then fit a canning lid! That was why I saved them. Also, I never had one of those break in the hot water bath, but occasionally had a brand new canning jar break while canning.

CWS mentioned that she pasteurizes the egg yolks. The recipe for mayo in the booklet that came with my immersion blender says to use Egg Beaters or some other pasteurized egg product.

When you were a kid, I don't think the raw egg risk was as high. Salmonella isn't very common, but I hear it is extremely unpleasant. It's also fairly serious for the immune deficient and the elderly. We may not be quite elderly yet, but we ain't spring chickens.

You are correct about salmonella being extremely unpleasant. It wasn't officially diagnosed, but I ate at a local fast food restaurant, and was violently ill for a little over 24 hours, and then it came out on the news that they had salmonella in their lettuce. I'm assuming that's what I had. I was so sick that I should have gone to the ER to be treated for dehydration, but I knew I wouldn't make it there without having something come out of one end or the other, so I decided to just curl up in my bed and die (I probably wasn't thinking too clearly at that point). I don't recommend salmonella lol.

 

[CWS4322]

You are correct about salmonella being extremely unpleasant. It wasn't officially diagnosed, but I ate at a local fast food restaurant, and was violently ill for a little over 24 hours, and then it came out on the news that they had salmonella in their lettuce. I'm assuming that's what I had. I was so sick that I should have gone to the ER to be treated for dehydration, but I knew I wouldn't make it there without having something come out of one end or the other, so I decided to just curl up in my bed and die (I probably wasn't thinking too clearly at that point). I don't recommend salmonella lol.

Most chickens are vaccinated before they are sold if one buys from a commercial hatchery. I still "heat" the yolk just to be safe. I do the same for cesear salad dressing and other things calling for a raw egg or yolk and which is not cooked.

 

[Skittle68]

Most chickens are vaccinated before they are sold if one buys from a commercial hatchery. I still "heat" the yolk just to be safe. I do the same for cesear salad dressing and other things calling for a raw egg or yolk and which is not cooked.

So is the salmonella in the egg? I always thought it was just on the outside of the shell.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

A chicken infected with salmonella can lay infected eggs.

 

[blissful]

Salmonella can be on the outside or in the inside of the eggs.
CDC Features - Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Salmonella from Eggs

I always thought it could only be on the outside of the eggs too. With vaccinations for chickens, at commercial operations, then I guess it could only be on the outside.

 

[taxlady]

Have I mentioned that I hate having to treat food as though it were medical waste?

 

[Harry Cobean]

i'm staying out of this one.....fast learner me!!