Homemade mayo

[TanyaK]

I always read how superior it is to store bought mayo and finally made it last last week. I actually prefer store bought mayo. I don't think I did anything wrong in making it as I looked at a couple of recipes to determine the ratio of oil,eggs and lemon juice but it just tasted a bit too oily to me and not "tangy" enough. Maybe it's an acquired taste ?

[luvs]

i made that when i was a kiddo & we didn't have jarred mayo left. we also made it at school as 'aoili'. both were less fluffy. aioli was tangy enough.
i liked them.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by TanyaK

I always read how superior it is to store bought mayo and finally made it last last week. I actually prefer store bought mayo. I don't think I did anything wrong in making it as I looked at a couple of recipes to determine the ratio of oil,eggs and lemon juice but it just tasted a bit too oily to me and not "tangy" enough. Maybe it's an acquired taste ?

It would be near impossible to duplicae the texture of store bought mayo.

You certainly can experiment with the flavorings you use to get the tang and to add other flavors. If you're trying to duplicte Hellmann's or Kraft or whatever, you are doomed to fail. Just try to make a mayo that you like the flavor of.

[Sweet]

I've been meaning to make homemade mayo...

[mcnerd]

Or maybe you haven't found the right recipe yet. There are some less oily recipes out there.

[GhettoRacingKid]

did you start with a littel mustard?

I like homemade mayo but in culinary school having 20+ people all make it and tasting all the different ones you would be surprised at the taste differences, texture and colors between everyone.

[Maverick2272]

We tried making it a couple of times as well and didn't like it. Every so often I try again with a different recipe, figuring eventually I will find one I like. But I think I started with the assumption that I would never be able to duplicate the store stuff and just needed to find a flavor I liked.
I think we did the same with salad dressing (miracle whip), and actually did find one we liked but lost it after we moved, LOL. We did it for the same reason we make homemade ice cream and bread, not that it is cost effective but that we cut out some of the chemicals and it gets the kids involved in making food and cooking. They like it when they get to help out and make something everyone can eat.

[Chipotle Tom]

I made homemade mayo for the first time last night. I was wanting to make potato salad, but it turned out that we didn't have any mayo. My first thought was "oh well, I guess there won't be any potato salad." Then I remembered that I had wanted to try making homemade mayo for quite a while and just never had anything to use it on. So, I found a recipe and gave it a try.

I was amazed at how easy it is to make. I think I'm going to make it more often. Do most of you whisk by hand or use a mixer?

[mcnerd]

I use a mixer, sometimes an immersion blender, since my old arm doesn't move as efficiently anymore.

I love making my own condiments. At first I did it to cut back on salt and other additives, but then the taste got to me and there's no going back, even if somebody says it might be more expensive than grabbing off the store shelf.

[Dave Hutchins]

I love home made mayo and make it quite often, some times I spike it with fresh dill weed um-o

[GhettoRacingKid]

forced to make it with a whisk in school the first time.

I have used a food processor too. I found that to be really easy.

[ChefJune]

Originally Posted by TanyaK

I always read how superior it is to store bought mayo and finally made it last last week. I actually prefer store bought mayo. I don't think I did anything wrong in making it as I looked at a couple of recipes to determine the ratio of oil,eggs and lemon juice but it just tasted a bit too oily to me and not "tangy" enough. Maybe it's an acquired taste ?

Tanya, I hope you'll try it again, enough times to tailor it to your specific taste. did you use a bit of dijon mustard? that adds the tang I like.

I much prefer the homemade ones now, and like to make them specific to the dishes I'm using it in. Leftovers for sandwiches.

[TanyaK]

I did add mustard but maybe not enough. Next time I'll use more mustard and lemon juice and less oil and play around with it a bit. Thanks guys !

[ChefJune]

Originally Posted by TanyaK

I did add mustard but maybe not enough. Next time I'll use more mustard and lemon juice and less oil and play around with it a bit. Thanks guys !

You might also try only about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and more of a flavorless oil, such as sunflower oil.

[Cornelius]

Originally Posted by ChefJune

You might also try only about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and more of a flavorless oil, such as sunflower oil.

Boy, do I agree. Just a couple of hours ago, I decided to make an egg salad sandwich for lunch. After I had the eggs going, I realized I was out of mayo. So, I thought "No problem, I have a lot of mayo recipes." I decided on the blender mayo recipe from "The Joy of Cooking." I followed the recipe exactly, the sauce didn't break, and everything came out according to plan.

The resultant mayo was a bit yellow, but, since it had yellow stuff in it, I figured it was no big deal. Then I tasted it. Yuck, ick, and ptooey. I like olive oil, but apparently not in mayonnaise. And the flavors had not blended well at all, despite the fact that I left it to chill in the fridge for an hour. It had this unpleasantly oily taste, and the dry mustard and cayenne the recipe called for, instead of making it pleasantly piquant, gave it this weird acrid flavor.

The brand I buy is Best Foods, which is called Hellmanns back east. The mayo I made tasted nothing like that. If I had bought some other brand that tasted like that, I might even have been moved to take it back to the store for a refund, something I almost never do.

I have noticed, though, in "The Joy of Cooking" there are a few things that are geared toward tastes of the past. A martini, for instance, made using the recipe therin would be completely unacceptable to most modern martini drinkers.

Can it be that tastes in mayo have changed similarly over the years, or is this just a lousy recipe for any point in time?

And, on that note, anyone have a recipe that does taste like Best Foods (Hellmann's) mayo? I'm a bit leary of wasting a bunch of eggs, oil, time, and effort trying this recipe and that until I find (or create) one that is satisfactory.

[babetoo]

my first try at mayo was today. goal _salt free. so far it has not thickened. is in runny stage. tastes good, just not spreadable. gonna whip up and add another egg yolk.

this is one fix i found by googling it. anyone know if this will help?

[bakechef]

I think the trick besides getting the right blend of spices, is to get a very lightly flavored oil, higher quality name brand to avoid a heavy oily taste.

I really need to try making mayo sometime.

[babetoo]

i used safflower oil . it tastes good, it is just too thin. gonna use as sauce on asparagus anyway. and will try again, using blender i think. it is hard to whisk and pour oil slowly.

[ChefJune]

I was never able to get the mayo consistency in a blender. OTOH, with the food processor, I rarely have misses.

I love, love, love homemade mayo. It makes even the best bottled stuff taste stale. Plus you can flavor it to your own tastes, and what you're making it to go with.

[Nicholas Mosher]

I grew up hating anything with jarred mayo, thinking I hated mayo.
First time I made homemade 6-7 years ago I found it was the jarred stuff I disliked!

I mix by hand. Egg yolks and canola oil for the base recipe.

Depending on the application, I'll use all sorts of different additions.
My favorite is a Caesar mayo I spread on BLTs.
I sub a little bacon drippings for some of the canola...