Homemade mayo separates after 2 days in fridge

[BAPyessir6]

I made homemade garlic mayo (aioli?) using a hand mixer. Egg, a little water, Dijon mustard, olive oil, a bit of vegetable oil, added garlic after it was done. Perfectly emulsified, silky thick smooth texture. Delicious. Put it in the fridge and pulled it out 2 or 3 days later to find it's separated/starting to separate. Is this normal, or is my technique wrong? Is thicker (almost gloppy) mayo faster to separate than thinner, more Ranch thickness mayo?

 

[medtran49]

I personally don't keep homemade mayo more than 2 days since it has raw egg so have never had a separation issue. I also don't use water. Instead, i use some kind of acid, lemon juice, a mild venegar, as it helps the emulsion.

 

[pepperhead212]

Your description of it "almost gloppy" makes me think it might not have emulsified properly. When it has emulsified well it is even thicker than store-bought mayo, and should not separate.

 

[pictonguy]

Splitting is generally a problem of egg yolk to fat amounts. I large egg yolk can, if pushed to the limit emulsify around 3/4 of a cup of oil, but reducing that to 1/2 is more stable. So for 2 cups of mayo you would need 4 egg yolks, and not whole eggs, just yolks. This should never split or at least it never has for me and have been doing it this way for decades.

I make a garlic dip for veg or fries, that kind of thing and thin out some mayo. I'll micro plane 2 or 3 cloves of garlic in the robot coupe add a cup of mayo and then with the machine running add water until I get the the thickness or should I say thinness I'm looking for and it never splits and it can get pretty thin, pourable actually without a problem. I suspect it's too much oil for the eggs your using.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Here is a short video from DC’s own Chef James Strange, powerplantop, that works for me.

Be sure to check out Chef James Strange’s World of Flavor and related links.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCtjlTbeLELCuJU0o8AF2qtA

 

[Aunt Bea]

I personally don't keep homemade mayo more than 2 days since it has raw egg so have never had a separation issue. I also don't use water. Instead, i use some kind of acid, lemon juice, a mild venegar, as it helps the emulsion.

I wrestle with how long to keep homemade mayonnaise, or foods made with it, too.

I’ve read that you should be able to keep it up to the expiration date of the eggs being used and also that the addition of an acid acts as a preservative but I’m still squeamish beyond three days.

I haven’t tried these egg free options but I’m curious enough to give them a try.

 

[jennyema]

Where is your acid?

 

[taxlady]

Where is your acid?

Oh, good point.

 

[BAPyessir6]

Is acid essential to mayo? Most recipes I've seen online and food/cooking shows don't use them, or maybe I just missed that!

 

[pictonguy]

The basic foundation of mayo will have an acid for sure. I use white wine vinegar generally but have used red wine and sherry vinegar and some people use lemon juice and of course salt.