best oil combo for homemade mayonnaise?

[heidipie]

I don't have a lot of experience making straight-up mayonnaise, to use instead of the jarred stuff in potato or tuna salad and so on. I've made aioli, with olive oil, but I think an all-olive oil mayo might be too bitter and assertive. A friend whipped up a batch using all canola oil, and I didn't like that much either, though it's possible that the oil was old and had started to turn. Any hard-won or received wisdom would be welcome. TIA!

[infernooo]

Soybean oil (for that Japanese Kewpie style taste)

[DishDelish]

I have been making homemade mayo for a while now because my oldest daughter is allergic to egg whites and I haven't ever found a brand that makes it without at the store. I got my recipe from The New Best Recipe Cookbook by Cooks Illustrated. They call for Corn oil and it works very well. If you are interested in the recipe just let m know and I will post it on here.

-Melissa

[rezpeni]

All extra virgin oil I think is just too overpowering, it takes on a green intense tinge that just knocks any other flavors out. The best way for me is to use regular olive oil, then use some extra virgin just for rounding out the flavor. To me this is the best Aioli whenever I make it I can't stop eating it and start digging around for things to try with it.

[kchurchill5]

I use 1/2 sunflower or corn and 1/2 olive oil. Works just fine for me. Honestly, I have made my own and I do for catering events or a special dinner, but most of the time, just a good hellmans in the fridge. But for a fresh dish I do make my own and that is what I use.

[gfr1111]

Does it seem to you like most of the posters here are using weird, gourmet-style oils? I'm not saying that's bad. I've never tried any of them when making mayonnaise, but I would guess that they would be too assertive. For example, most cookbooks do not recommend olive oil for that reason.

But maybe I shouldn't talk. I'm still trying to make a mayonnaise that I like as much as Hellman's. (I always thought that when I made mayo from scratch, it would be BETTER than Helman's. No way!) My mayonnaise made from corn oil seems bland and uninteresting, but mostly what I want is lemony and eggy tasting mayo, not a lot of flavor from the oil. I guess I will try the grapeseed oil because MMRuth is recommending it , and I've read enough posts to know that she is a fine cook.

[goodhealthgourmet]

while perhaps not as common as corn oil, grapeseed oil isn't a "weird, gourmet-style" oil.

it has a very high smoke point and a neutral flavor, both of which make it a great choice for frying...and as stated earlier, the neutral flavor is also ideal for mayo.

[heidipie]

I was using grapeseed oil regularly as my all-purpose non-olive oil, until it started to bother me that it turned my pancake and banana bread batter green. But it is a lot yummier than canola, so I'll start there. Thanks, all!

[Ali]

Just a warning that your mayo will also have a very slight green tint to it if you choose to use grapeseed oil.

gfr1111 - start by adding more salt if you want more flavour in your mayo (and for it to approach Hellman's - but really, I keep Hellman's on hand for the occasional need for deviled eggs). Honestly, I also find homemade mayo a little bland (maybe because I add so little salt) without the addition of extra flavours like garlic, EVOO, sesame oil, etc. I once did a combo sesame and chilli oil (and more salt than my usual 1/4 tsp), and the resulting mayo made for some great potato salad. One of the nearby restaurant serves fries with a [constantly changing] duo of mayo/aioli - the best ones were the basil-herb mayo and saffron aioli and was good enough that I keep going back in case they start having the saffron aioli on a regular basis. :)

[Fritter]

If you want your mayo to come out more like Hellman's then you want to play around with a product called "instant clear Gel" . This is what many professional kitchens utilize that are making large batches of mayo at a time. The intent is usually to save money by increasing the volume however the starch makes mayo a bit more like Hellmans.

[Sam D.]

I think you can get good results from most oils as long as they are wholesome and pure. Some people like using olive oil. I don't because I like a much more neutral flavor, such as corn, soy or safflower oil.

If you had a problem with the taste of mayo made with canola oil, it could also have resulted from an off- balance of your other ingredients going into the mix like the salt, lemon juice, vinegar, etc.

[jen kalb]

I find that canola tends to have an intrusive and unpleasant flavor when exposed in a bland preparation. I tend to use an oil like corn or sunflower with some warm flavored olive oil for this. French recipes often recommend peanut oil for this or salads - I find the flavor at least of our US peanut oil, not to mention the chinese to be much too peanutty and distracting.

We buy peanut oil in chinatown (mostly brand globe and lion, I think)- PO is almost off the shelves, seemingly in US supermarkets - maybe because of the salmonella outbreak? I would avoid the cheapest chinese oils tho - some of them are blends without much peanut flavor at all or even rancid. Stick with the top brands and check to make sure what you are buying is all peanut. Info you didnt want on a mayo thread, I guess!

[hood]

Raymond Sokolov, in “How to Cook”, recommends using peanut oil.

[goodhealthgourmet]

peanut oil for mayonnaise??? no way. the flavor is much too strong.

[Fritter]

Peanut oil has not only become hard to find it's pretty darn expensive.
Has any one tried avocado oil?

[goodhealthgourmet]

now *that* idea i like. avocado mayo. mmm...

[MMRuth]

I often use grapeseed oil, and add in some olive oil if I feel like it.

[goodhealthgourmet]

what she said :)

grapeseed oil is ideal because the flavor is totally neutral, and if you want the flavor from the olive oil you can just add some.

[Ali]

Same. (But then, I use exclusively grapeseed oil for my standard cooking oil.) I'll swap out as much as 1/3 of that (as Alton Brown tells me) for a flavoured oil like extra virgin olive oil or sesame for an extra boost in taste. Even at 1/3, I find EVOO too assertive and doesn't make a good "general use" mayo.

[MMRuth]

I also use grapeseed oil for everything for which I don't use olive oil (or occasionally peanut oil if called for). I do resort to generic vegetable oil if I need quite a bit for frying.

[smtucker]

MM, I bought some grapeseed oil today just for making mayonnaise, and it tastes good. Could you tell me how your are making your mayonnaise? Immersion blender, blender, food processor, hand mixer or perhaps the old fashioned whisk method?

I used the immersion blender with the regular attachment to start with, but that broke the mayonnaise. I then switched to the whisk attachment which was better but the engine in the blender did get awfully hot.

In the past I have used a food processor, but that machine really does require that I make more than I can possibly eat before going bad.

And finally, how many days will uncooked egg mayonnaise last in the fridge in your experience?

[goodhealthgourmet]

if you don't want to whisk it manually, the whisk attachment for a hand mixer works well, or you can use a regular blender.

as far as how long it keeps, opinions vary on that one. the more cautious among us will say 2-3 days, but you can usually get about a week out of it with no concerns. believe it or not, leaving it out at room temp for a few hours before refrigerating it will actually help prevent spoilage, because it gives the acid more time to work its anti-bacterial magic (which slows down once you refrigerate it).

[geor1e]

what is the recipe for immersion blender and can you bring back mayo that has not emulsified. Thank you george

[shussey]

hey i just made some mayo with my stick blender.
poured in 300 ish ml of oil
dropped in 3 egg yolks
dropped in 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
let it come to room temp (30 min)
put beater right on bottom and turned it on....
let it go for about 10 seconds
then started to slowly work in the rest of the oil
when everything is blended...season with salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. if still too thick just add some water...or more lemon if not lemony enough.

As for fixing mayo....I think using a hand whisk is best. Just pop one room temp egg yolk in a bowl....whisk....add some of the mayo...whisk....whisk....whisk....when blended...add more mayo....don't add more until completely mixed. continue until all is blended.

[lucygoosey]

Another one for grapeseed oil. Works great.

[Squirrels]

I've used olive oil almost exclusively when making mayo at home. Canola can be bitter, especially in large amounts.