Anybody making mayonnaise?

[XeniA]

I ask only because I've just made it for the very first time (food processor, basically following instructions in "Joy") and found it amazingly good and amazingly easy. I expected it to be terribly tempermental and to fail completely. Instead, two days later it's still standing there all emulsified and scrummy and I'm real impressed with myself ...



...however, I'm curious: when my best friend showed me first how to make mayo (casually whipped it up one evening at my place and took my fear of making it away) it was just great the first evening, but the next day it had split completely and was just a nice oily egg soup.

Who knows the why's and wherefore's of this mayo-making business??? Why did hers do that and mine went well? Beginner's luck?

 

[Andy M.]

The egg and mustard in the recipe help to emulsify the oil and the other ingredients together. How this is done can impact how it looks the next day. If it's done properly, with the correct process and ratios of ingredients, it will stay emulsified. If not, it will separate.

 

[XeniA]

Yup Andy ... that's what I thought. Beginner's luck!

Thanks for your help.

 

[Andy M.]

Not beginner's luck.

Correct process.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

The authors of "Joy of Cooking" know how to cook, and know it well. That is a very trustworthy book.

As to why your freind's mayo fell, I can't give you a precise answer, or even the ratio of ingredients as I just wing it. I've never had my home-made mayo seperate on me. But I agree, it sure beets the store bought stuff, and allows you endless variety. I'll buy Andy's reasoning. He is also a very knowledgable cook.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Swann]

I have been making mayo for nigh on to 50 yrs. It will sometimes just not work! When it does not emulsify you can add an extra egg and add the oil etc again and it will behave. For the last couple of years I have used rice bran oil but it is trickier than canola or other veg. oil. I use oil, egg, lemon juice, dry mustard and salt. For the last 20 yrs I have used a stick blender instead of a food processor or blender. Clean up is a snap as I make it directly in my Mason jar. Nothing compares to the taste of homemade mayo.... it is just plain better! Now you can make Hollandaise sauce too! Really the same except that you use melted butter for the oil. It is delicious with asparagas and artichokes.

 

[ironchef]

Do you have the recipe that your friend used? Before reading Andy's response, the first thought that came to my mind was that she did not emulsify it properly. Acid also helps the mayo keep it's emulsification. I always use lemon juice not only for emulsification purposes but because I like the flavor it imparts as well.

 

[ironchef]

Now you can make Hollandaise sauce too! Really the same except that you use melted butter for the oil. It is delicious with asparagas and artichokes.

Hollandaise though is much, much trickier to make than mayonnaise due to the fact that you need to control both the temperature of the egg and the butter. It's also much easier to break or curdle (the only real way to curdle mayo is if your blender/robo coupe blades get too hot) and much harder to fix once that happens. Curdling is pretty much impossible to fix, but there are ways to fix a broken hollandaise.

 

[Dina]

Funny you mention this topic. MIL and I tried it once and failed. It was a total disaster and that's because she had learned this is some culinary school she attended when she was young. Can I get your recipe, please?

 

[Aquarius]

I make my own garlic aioli all the time! It's basically the same thing. Isn't it rewarding? Its such a great feeling.

 

[XeniA]

Hi back everybody -- what a fun thread this has become!

Dina, if you were asking me for my recipe, I don't have it right here right now, but it's the standard blender mayonnaise from a 20-year-old copy of "The Joy of Cooking" with some modifications like no dry mustard simply because my hubby hates the stuff. If you can't get ahold of the recipe, just shout and I'll get it for you. I found it a bit salty, mind you.

Aquarius -- IS aioli the same, or is it a bit different? Only know of it -- never tasted it. Do you have a recipe?

Ironchef, no, I don't have the recipe my friend used. Besides, she didn't use a recipe per se, she just threw some ingredients together and I was only partially paying attention, unfortunately! Hers seemed a bit heavier in taste than mine -- a bit less classic. I'll ask her and if it's something earthshaking, I'll get back to you!

Swann, the taste IS really yummy, isn't it?! I'll try the stick blender idea -- I'd used the mini-processer that comes with the stick blender (Braun product) which worked well and has its own cap to close it too, but of course then you don't have it to use elsewhere if you tie up the bowl, do you?

By the way, new question no. 1: how long can one KEEP home-made mayo in the fridge?

New question no. 2: variations were mentioned. Like what???

 

[Aquarius]

I've got a great book, called "The Cook's Book" a huge big thing that has been a work of 18 of the worlds top chefs. I couldn't live without it! It has a great recipe for mayo and many MANY variations, and a large "emulsified sauces" section!

I'll copy down my recipe and the variations for you, I'll have to dumb it down a little, as it has paragraphs of information that aren't really needed! So I'll minimise it into tips.

Tips: Have everything at room temperature before starting, especially eggs and oil, as they are difficult to emulsify when cold. Add oil drop by drop to aid instant emulsion.

Makes 300ml
2 egg yolks
1tsp Dijon Mustard
1tsp white wine vinegar
250ml sunflower or canola oil
2tsp lemon juice

1. Place the egg yolks, mustard, and vinegar in a mixing bowl. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper.

2. Steady the bowl on a dampened tea towel and pour in the oil - drop by drop to begin with, then a drizzle - whisking all the time.

3. Add the oil in a steady stream as the sauce begins to thicken, whisking continuously to keep the emulsion stable.

4. When all the oil has been incorporated and the mayonnaise is thick, stir in the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Classic Mayonnaise-based sauces:

Aioli (garlic mayonnaise):
Add 4 crushed garlic cloves to the egg yolks, then continue as the master recipe. Perfect with with hot or cold fish and as a dip for vegetables or hot chips.

Rouille (chili mayonnaise):
Add a pinch of saffron and 1/4tsp cayenne pepper to aioli. Traditionally served with the Meditteranean fish soup bouillabaisse.

Tartare sauce:
Add 25g finely chopped gherkins, 25g rinsed and chopped capers, 2tbsp chopped parsley, 2tbsp chopped chervil, and 2 chopped shallots to the finished mayonnaise. Good with deep-fried and pan-fried fish.

Remoulade:
Add 1 finely chopped anchovy fillet and 2tbsp chopped taragon to tartare sauce. Serve with cold meats, cold fish and fried fish.

Truffle mayonnaise:
Replace 1tbsp of the sunflower or canola oil with truffle oil, then add a little finely shaved truffle to the finished mayonnaise. Great with fish, vegetables and cold meats.

So its quite flexible!

I also ADORE making my own bechamel sauce. The delightful smell fills my whole kitchen and I just live for it!

 

[XeniA]

Thanks Aquarius!!

I'm pretty sure I used a whole egg, not just the yolk, and about a third of the oil was olive oil. And no mustard as I'd said ... and I think it was vinegar, not lemon juice. So ...!

The remoulade sounds particularly good. You can pretty much forget the truffle variation, not having a spare 200.00 Euros or so to spend on mayo ;-)

Your bechamel comment was interesting: bechamel to me is just a white sauce, i.e. butter and flour and milk and seasonings, with or without cheese. Sure, butter and nutmeg are yummy smells, but it hardly permeates the house. Do I have an insensitive nose or are we talking about two different things?!

 

[KellyM]

The weather comes to mind. You may have noticed that "Joy" basically tells you not to bother making mayonnaise if a thunderstorm is in progress, or even if it looks like you might have one. I can see where both humidity and barometric pressure could be a factor in making mayonnaise, and both are affected during a thunderstorm.

However, I am sure there are other types of weather that might affect mayonnaise making because of similar humidity, for instance. It would be interesting to see a scientific study regarding this.

I'm just speculating at this point. I must confess I've never made my own mayonnaise, but checked this post out because I'm about out of my favorite brand (Best Foods, or Hellman's east of the Mississippi) and was just thinking about attempting it. I'm glad yours came out well.

Kelly

 

[XeniA]

Well Kelly, you really have to try it! Like I initially said, amazed me how easy and how successful!

Always bought Hellman's/Best Foods in the States, and until recently only bought it here too. Now I'm converted and will not buy any commercial mayonnaise again. The superior flavor will get you.

If you have a mini-mixer or a stick mixer, just run and get an egg out of the fridge to warm up a bit, and within an hour or so, give it a try then let us know!

Now that you mention it, I do remember those thunderstorm comments in "Joy" (which I promptly ignored since no such thing was threatening!). Don't believe it was an issue with my friend's since it was New Years and it would likely just have been cold, but it raises an interesting issue about the weather.

When my mayo-making attempts number a few more than one, maybe I'll actually have something intelligent to say about this ;-)

A.

 

[KellyM]

Thanks Ayrton, I will. You know, another way to get eggs to room temperature is to put them in a bowl of warm water.

I happen to have both a mini-mixer and a boat motor. I think Ill try this today! Thanks for the encouragement.

Kelly

 

[XeniA]

I'm still working on that "boat motor" comment. Maybe I'm kinda slow-brained because over here the day's drawing to a close?!

Really, DO try and DO write back, okay?

A.

P.S. bright hubby DID put our fresh-from-the-fridge egg under warm water for a few minutes. That actually made me nervous, but we haven't died yet ...

 

[Andy M.]

A blender will also do the trick, along with the others mentioned.

You can leave the msutard out of the recipe but it acts to aid in emulsification as well as adding flavor.

 

[Swann]

If you use a stick blender, you do not need to add the oil by droplets! I use a pt Mason jar. Put in the whole egg, add lemon juice, dry mustard, salt and fill with oil. Put in s. blender and turn on low... gradually raise the mixer as the mixture emulsifes... when you are at the top take the shaft up and down a couple times to make sure it is mixed and you are finished! I have a Cuisinart stick blender and the directions as per their booklet. My old Braun did it the same way. It will keep refrig. 2 to 3 weeks.

 

[Aquarius]

My bechamel is flour, butter, milk, halved onion studded with cloves, bay leaf and nutmeg.

Its just a lovely smell!