Home-Made Mayonnaise - simple, healthy, fast, and tasty. Use an immersion hand blender.

[smaki]

This three minute video on mayo blew my mind several years back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz0fLT_k3_U

Now we make home-made mayonnaise all the time. It does taste better. Some combinations are amazing.

Recipe for the above with comments is at: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2007/07/homemade-mayonnaise-recipe-video-big.html

Why? Store bought mayonnaise is not as good tasting as I recall it growing up. Including from Kraft, Hellmann's, Best Foods, ... And we don't like the oil they use. Now in 30oz plastic instead of 32oz glass to save a few cents probably leaching plastic chemicals into our food (including toluene, BPA, etc.). Using new plastic water bottles is not recommended why do we have to get our mayo from them? So now make our own mayo when crave. Found is worth the effort. Side note: we used to re-use mayo jars when making pickles to give away and it is sad also can not do that anymore (the price of canning jars is prohibitive giving pickles away).

Started making mayo with an inexpensive immersion blender and a Coca-Cola glass (32 oz small at the bottom, just bigger than the head of an immersion blender, and wide at the top works great for making home made mayonnaise). The big one shown here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47428693@N07/4955414000). If you watch for them online or at second hand stores 32 oz Coca-Cola glasses are still around to be had.

Then got as a gift the Cuisinart Smart Stick with the plastic beaker cup shown in the video (and surprised how often I do use the chop and grinder as well as whisk attachments). Find it works great for more than mayonnaise. Mine is 2 speeds, 200 Watt, stainless styling, and Model HB-154PC1. Just looked online and can get just the Cuisinart Smart Stick hand blender and beaker for $29 or a similar setup to mine with whisk, chop and grind, for $50. Google "Cuisinart hand blender" then click on "Shop for Cuisinart hand blender on Google" to see stores in your area with pricing.

The basic recipe in the video tastes darn good. While I often use different combinations of healthy usually neutral-tasting oils. Have fun with it and let us know your results and combinations you like.

CAUTION: The result is not pasteurized like store mayo so needs to be consumed. They say within a week. I would not push it. Mine is usually gone way before that.

WARNING: Eating raw egg is not for everyone. Could be deadly because of bacterial salmonella food poisoning to the elderly, very young children, or people with weak immune systems. There are several options:

1) Coddle the eggs which heats the shell and outside of the white where the bacteria is most likely to exist. Not as good as pasteurizing, but simple to do and safer than raw. How to coddle eggs: Coddling causes the yolk to become slightly thickened and warm. And the outside of the white will begin to cook. Bring a very fresh egg to room temperature by immersing it in warm water (otherwise it might crack when coddled). Place the egg in a small bowl or mug and pour boiling water around the egg until it is covered. Let stand for exactly 1 minute. Immediately run cold water into the bowl until the egg can be easily handled; set aside.

2) Can buy pasteurized eggs but they are kind of expensive and only need two when come by the dozen.

3) Learn to pasteurize your own egg yolks like this: http://johndlee.hubpages.com/hub/Safe_homemade_mayonnaise_An_easy_technique_that_guarantees_safe_homemade_mayonnaise. This link also has a more basic mayo recipe.

4) Substitute another form of lecithin if eating egg yolks is a concern.

Home made mayonnaise can make all kinds of tasty sauces, dips, and dressings. I often use 50% mayonnaise and 50% sour cream (the kind with only one ingredient with no corn starch like Daisy brand) as a base.

The above is all you need. But in case you want more information:

Gordon Ramsey makes Mayo (in a food processor):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOymdsYMoqQ1

How they make mayo with a whisk at culinary school (first hand info from someone who does not like store-bough that home made mayonnaise tastes way better, she uses more mustard than I do, good info from an expert confirming shelf life is 7 days):
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505404_162-57397889-10391736/make-your-own-homemade-mayo/

How Alton Brown did Mayo on his 'Good Eats' shows. He has video with a couple recipes.
With a whisk: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/mayonnaise-recipe/index.html
By food processor: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/party-mayonnaise-recipe/index.html

Did a search and found a previous thread on Chowhound about making mayo with a hand stick immersion blender:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/672307

Here is how one guy makes mayo using a hand mixer (if don't have an immersion blender, and some power mixers have a whisk attachment great to make mayo with):
http://www.justhungry.com/2006/02/basics_mayonnai.html

A link with good info (including The History of Mayo shown below):
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/question617.htm

A bunch of thoughts on making Mayo (especially if read the comments):
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/re...

The History of Mayo

Mayonnaise was invented in 1756 by the French chef of the Duc de Richelieu. After the Duc beat the British at Port Mahon, his chef created a victory feast that was to include a sauce made of cream and eggs. Realizing that there was no cream in the kitchen, the chef substituted olive oil for the cream and a new culinary creation was born. The chef named the new sauce "Mahonnaise" in honor of the Duc's victory.

Enjoy.

[Tom P]

I tried this the other night for the first time and felt like my life changed for the better :) It is amazing.

I make great aioli... by hand. I never mastered doing it in the food processor. So I make it by hand and it is wonderful but it takes a while and even knowing how to do it well, it can break (which has an easy fix but adds to the time.)

This is amazing! One trick I learned from Suzanne Goin: add a touch of water at the end and it will make it even creamier.

[sabijoli]

It's quite miraculous, especially in a pinch but I do declare that there is nothing like hand whisked aoili...it's just sooo unctuous and divine, the water in the immersion version helps, but does not replace perfection. I'm going to experiment with a whisk attachment on a hand blender to see if I can come closer to the hand-made version.

[wabi]

I tried to make it this weekend. It ended up a horrible failure. I hope someone can tell me why. I used an immersion blender in a tall narrow plastic Tupperware glass. I used the eggs I had at hand right from the fridge..( in retrospect, I did NOT allow them to come to room temperature). I used lime juice instead of lemon juice. (I had not lemons on hand)..but other than that I followed the recipe pretty exactly after watching the video and reading the article.

My first result was a "broken" Mayo...I was able to recognize that, and in an attempt to fix it, I added another egg yolk...I ended up with a liquidy vinaigrette, not a nice firm Mayo.

What did I do wrong and how can I fix it?...To quote Jake and Elwood Blues..."I'm on a mission from God" to make a good homemade Mayo.

Thank you all in advance.

[smaki]

wabi, good try. Problems are opportunities to improve. Little details like temperature matter.

I always do mine with egg yolks at room temperature, can heat eggs in warm water to rush. 'Coddling' raw eggs in addition to making them more safe to eat helps warms the yolks (one minute in boiling water slightly cooks the egg white tossed). Slightly more if out of the refrigerator I go with 77 seconds. Cold yolks could have been where you made a small mistake.

Find it helps me to go back to this video and proven recipe (using the same hand blender with beaker): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz0fLT_k3_U Get great results with two fresh egg yolks to 1/2 cup olive oil and 1 cup vegetable oil (try: safflower, sunflower, peanut, or another nut oil). A basic mayo recipe that works and comments on the above video are here: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2007/07/homemade-mayonnaise-recipe-video-big.html

About how to fix when breaks. Alton Brown in Good Eats S04E10 'The Egg Files IV: Mayo Clinic' used an egg yolk and a whisk. Start to fix broken mayo by whisking a yolk frothy in a bowl. Then add broken mayo slow at first. More whisking. Add a bit more when incorporated. Whisk again until creamy. Add a bit. And whisk ... until all the broken mayo is fixed in a few minutes. Alton starts talking about broken mayo issues at 17 minutes (oil if too warm can be a possible issue) and fixes a bad batch starting at 18 minutes on his video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMx7ae... watch it all for other sound homemade mayonnaise info from experts.

Watch the two video links. More in OP, online, and above above if need. Then give it another shot. Can always toss mistakes to not eat. If try and tune, you will eventually get it. The results are worth the efforts.

[LMAshton]

Wabi, I believe you're in Hawaii, yes? If so, one thing you might not know is that heat and humidity can, in my experience, affect the ability to make a decent mayonnaise. In my years of living in Sri Lanka and now Singapore (hot and humid), I haven't been able to get this method of dump everything in a narrow jar and whir whir until you get mayo to work reliably. Whipped cream is similarly a problem.

Instead, I still use my stick blender and a narrow jar, dump everything but the oil into the jar, and gradually add the oil as the whir whir does its thing. When I say add the oil gradually, I don't mean a drop at a time, I mean a slow stream at first, then speed it up as it emulsifies. The oil is added over a total of, oh, 20 seconds.

[smaki]

Alton Brown makes homemade mayo by whisk & food processor. Even rescues broken mayo on Good Eats here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMx7ae...

TIP: use powdered mustard instead of dijon for thicker end results.

[Cheez62]

I've made mayo this way as well, and love it! Here is a link to another chowhound thread on mayo, and in my post is a link to the recipe (with pics) that I used the first time I tried it.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7690...

[cleopatra999]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Smaki!

I have struggled with emulsifying for ages. I couldn't make ceaser salad dressing thick to save my life. This is the easiest way to do it!

couple questions:
Can I add the garlic/anchovy/extra lemon while making base? I waited and added after because I was scared to mess it up, this worked fine as well.

Can you 1/2 the recipe?

How long will the mayo last in my fridge?

[smaki]

cleopatra999, You are welcome. Glad you enjoy. Home made sauces are awesome.

As to adding to the base you did good. While have made it both ways. Find too much lemon up front (when add lots of liquid doing a big batch - like if make a quadruple batch for a crowd) the liquid seems gets in the way of the early emulsion but still works eventually (so find best for a large batch to add half the liquid up front and half of the juice later in the process once emulsion is established - for a small batch with one or two egg yolks instead of eight does not matter so much as less liquid in the beginning and getting emulsion going is the possible issue). When make Ceaser with a whisk I add salt then garlic and mush them together in the bowl. Then anchovy, Worcestershire, dijon mustard, and a bit of fresh lemon juice (sometime with lime sometimes fresh lime juice only) then egg yolk and drizzle oil in while whisking. Very very slow (a few drops at a time) especially at first and works fine. TIP: To add oil when make by hand with a whisk I use a squirt bottle with a very small hole (two for $1 at the Dollar Store one yellow one red). Also at the dollar store they have rubber mats to put under a bowl to keep it from moving around or rubber jar openers that work (can use a towel under whisking bowl - find damp works best to hold a large mixing bowl in place so can whisk with one hand and squirt oil in with the other). After dressing is made is when I put in the grated or powdered cheese - I like Pecorino Romano (made from sheep milk) and seems TJs usually has the best price on it here. NOTE: Dijon up front helps emulsion form.

Yes I cut recipe in half often. Especially when make with an egg yolk due to short shelf life - as if use raw egg they say eat within a week as a general rule (as said in OP). Emulsify with something other than egg if want it to last much longer (when use another form of lecithin to power the emulsion shelf life becomes limited by when the kind of oil you use goes bad in your fridge).

[smaki]

What do you mix with mayo?

For me tonight. Two pieces Good Seed both extra mayo. Bacon bits both sides. Then thin sliced tomato both sides. Fine shredded lettuce both sides and a bit onion. Good pickles sliced thin. White medium Tillamook cheddar on one side and thin sliced pastrami ends the other then reverse.. To repeat so both sides do not match but each has a meat and cheese layer.. Consumed open face each side cut in quarters eight pieces total. Usually eat together then cut in quarters with alternating middle 4-layers. Too big this eve to eat flipped together.

[Bryan Pepperseed]

Perhaps a case of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing", but having casually investigated sous vide on and off for a couple of years I'm now considering pasteurizing my mayo eggs.
Has anyone done this? How long a shelf life can I expect if I use pasteurized eggs for mayo?

[smaki]

Can buy pasteurized eggs at major grocery stores. Their yolks make fine homemade mayonnaise. It is generally recommended to eat homemade mayonnaise within a week - even pasturized-yolk mayo because the yolk is not cooked.

Fresh is best. Once crack an egg I try to consume well-refrigerated egg homemade mayonnaise in under 4 days or toss ( one or two days if possible being extra safe ). Would not consume homemade mayonnaise past the week recommended in the published recipes at links shared above. The videos also discuss shelf life including by: Gordon Ramsay, culinary school, ... most say a week maximum. Be sure to get shelf life from experts. It varies with mayonnaise recipe, temperature(s), acid, storage, preparation, etc.

[Bryan Pepperseed]

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't really checked out your links other than the one on pasteurization because I've been happily doing the (non-pasteurized) Chef John method for years.

I'm still on the hunt to find some definitive info regarding shelf life when using pasteurized eggs. Assuming that I'm not the only one who can't finish a "regular" batch in four days (or has "at risk" people in their house like I do) I will post any significant findings I come across.

[tim irvine]

I use peanut oil ...one cup to two egg yolks plus juice of a lemon , a pinch of salt, and a little Maille Dijon. I like it in small batches. Sometimes I substitute stone ground mustard and sometimes I toss in a chipotle with some adobo.

[ChrisOfStumptown]

I don't have any qualms about raw eggs. Yes it's possible that they could contain salmonella. However, what actually gives people salmonella in the US is pre-bagged vegetables and ground meats. The difference is that big farms and big meat has powerful advertising, legal, and lobbying representation.

Raw eggs are far down on my list of concerns.

[Antilope]

Eggbeaters also works in making immersion hand blender mayonnaise.

[ChrisOfStumptown]

I probably won't try egg-beaters mayonnaise, since I never buy the stuff, but my curiosity is piqued: how does the stuff taste?

[Antilope]

For me, the mayonnaise is mainly flavored by the mustard, vinegar and lemon juice. I don't like an eggy mayonnaise.

[vil]

Interesting story about its origin.

I actually finally made my first mayonnaise after learning that there are no commercial ones that do not include canola oil. I have been trying to eat healthier and was hoping to find mayo made with olive oil. No such luck.

I also came across the method of using an immersion hand blender, on Serious Eats, which convinced me that it would be simple and fool-proof to make my own:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/10/th...

It was really that easy. The instructions warned against using pure olive oil, and so I used a mix of that and grapeseed oil. The results were wonderful, and I am never going back to store bought!

[weezieduzzit]

An empty Bubbies pickle or sauerkraut jar turned to be the perfect vessel for my immersion blender mayo. The blender *just* fits in it and if I make more than I need I just put the lid on and set it in the frige.

I don't eat canola but have found that coconut oil makes great mayo that firms up a bit in the fridge. I find that to be an asset if I'm using the mayo to top fish before it goes in the broiler (mixed with parmesan and herbs,) or other uses where it's nice to have it "stand up" a bit.

[PesachBenSchlomo]

Thanks, @weezieduzzit. A couple of nice ideas there. I'm always looking for the perfect vessel for the immersion blender, and I have never thought of coconut oil for mayo. Cool beans!

[jammy]

If I want mayo, I use a whisk. It doesn't take long and I figure at least a few of the calories I'm about to slather on my sammich are going to burn off in the workout. :)

[BigE]

I've been making home made mayo for the few years, after watching the Ramsay video posted above, and store bought just can't compare. I've made it with a whisk, hand and immersion blenders, and last night was my first go with a food processor.

Mine goes something like this (Ramsay's method and recipe, give or take):

Add 3-4 egg yolks and ~1 tablespoon dijon to bowl. Mix with your weapon of choice until you have a uniform consistency. Slowly add oil (I use slightly more than 1 cup of peanut oil), drops at a time initially, until stable emulsion has formed. Then, add as a steady stream, continuing to mix until desired consistency is reached. Add juice from 1/2 lemon, along with S&P to taste.

[smaki]

Did you like making it in a food processor better than using an immersion blender?

[Antilope]

Mayonnaise with an Immersion Blender

A Poem About Mayonnaise?

A Blender at the end of a stick,

will make you mayo very quick!

With all your ingredients at the temp of the room,

how could your mayonnaise fail to bloom?

If the width of the jar is nearly the same,

as the end of the stick then you're in the game.

To a one quart jar add the egg of a chicken,

both yellow and white and your mayonnaise will thicken.

On top of the egg way down in the jar,

add vinegar, spices and you will go far.

Now carefully pour on top of the stuff,

the oil of your choice, but just use enough.

Turn off the stick, press the egg to the bottom,

now turn it on and we almost have got'um.

When you see mayo at the end of the stick,

slowly pull upward that's part of the trick.

With the blender now at the top of the jar,

it's mayo you wanted so there you are!

Though Mayo's a matter of personal taste,

when it's around me it won't go to waste.

Finding Hellmann's or even the Food that is Best,

depends on whether you're east or you're west.

But wherever you end your food buying trip,

you always will find they have Miracle Whip!

- Antilope

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Homemade Best Foods/Hellmans Mayonnaise using stick blender

1 whole egg, medium or large size
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (bottled ok)
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard (or 1/4 tsp prepared yellow mustard)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
dash white pepper
1 cup vegetable (canola*) oil, room temperature

*Olive Oil will make a strong flavored mayo that tastes very different from
regular mayonnaise. So just be aware of this if you choose to use olive oil.
Canola is a neutal flavored oil that makes a mayo similar to most store brands.

Break egg into bottom of 1-quart canning jar or other tall narrow jar that
allows you to immerse the mixing blades of a stick blender all the way to
the bottom. The jar should be only slightly wider than the end of the stick blender.

Add lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, table salt and white pepper.

Add 1 cup of vegetable oil.

Place mixing blades of stick blender (turned off) all the way to the bottom
of the jar, pressing down over the egg.

Turn stick blender on high speed, hold in place at bottom of jar for about
5-seconds until you see mayonnaise form under stick blender's mixing blades.

Slowly pull stick blender upward until the mixing blades reaches top of jar,
taking about 5-seconds more . The stick blender will turn the oil into
mayonnaise as it is pulled slowly to the top of the jar.

After chilling in the fridge, this mayonnaise gets slightly thicker and tastes
very much like Best Foods/Hellman's Mayonnaise.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups of mayonnaise.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Miracle Whip emergency copycat

1 cup regular mayonnaise
2 or 3 teaspoons powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
dash of paprika
dash of garlic powder

For people that want to cut back on sugar, I've found you can substitute
1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon of Stevia sweetener for the powdered sugar.

Mix well. Use in an emergency then hurry to the store to get more Miracle Whip.

I like reguar mayo and I also like Miracle Whip.

[smaki]

Nice poem. And I look forward to trying your recipes.

[Antilope]

Have you noticed that most commercial mayonnaise now lists water as the second ingredient? Yuk!

[smaki]

Looked at the store last night to confirm water is the second ingredient in most of them including Kraft, Best Foods, ... Double Yuk!

[Antilope]

Replace some oil in the emulsion with water. Cheapen the product but sell at the same price.

So far Heinz does not list water as the second ingredient.

[smaki]

Noticed the 'new' Heinz mayo on the shelf at Grocery Outlet for $2.49. Based on your post will give it a try. And is less expensive than any other prepared mayo options around here.

[Bryan Pepperseed]

Being the skeptic that I am, I'd tend to agree with Antilope saying that the addition of water is probably a "lower production cost/increase profits" maneuver.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me if the mayo industry cited food safety as their reason instead of profits..

According to section three of the following link, there is a method of pasteurization (among others) that uses a water and acid mixture to raise the "coagulation temperature" of the yolk protiens higher than the temperature needed to kill salmonella.

http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Mayonn...

[vil]

Wow, and I thought they were only trying to pull that off with the "lite" versions!

[smaki]

And if look at the ingredients in store-bought mayonnaise the oils used are not the best. These days corporations focus on price ONLY. Is why I started making my own homemade mayonnaise. I do not eat soybean or canola oil in general so avoid (soybean also known as "vegetable oil" is what most commercial store-bought mayonaise is made with). There are better choices out there healthier for most.

Have still been trying to find the perfect combination of a neutral oil that works best when making homemade mayonnaise (the right nut, flax, safflower, ...). The strong flavored olive oil I like best in my Itialian salad dressings and with my food in general is not it when making homemade mayonnaise (Trader Joes green bottle with a spout, that used to taste better about two years ago is still my go to for $8 a liter in general and open to suggestions there also). Strong flavored olive oil does not work so have experimented with cheap mild olive oil that works good straight in homemade mayonnaise. Unfortunately, when find one good the next year is different based on weather or things out of our control (have been making mayo a while). Some oils varry year to year like wine. I am still looking for a consistent supply of a good neautral flavored oil to make homemade mayonaise with year-to-year. All ideas are welcome.

[jammy]

Have you tried grapeseed oil? That's my go to for mayo or anything else that doesn't call for an assertive oil. It's very neutral.

[smaki]

Have not tried grapeseed oil, but will based on your suggestion. Have been using safflower oil mixed with a mild tasting olive oil mostly (in different combinations and the results are way better than store-bought). Did post here hoping would find new oils to try. Thank you for the input. Will give grapeseed oil a go in my homemade mayonnaise and expect good things based on research.

[Antilope]

If you research it (there are threads here on Chow), the foreign olive oil trade is mobbed up. What's labeled as extra virgin olive oil is full of other oils and flavoring, when only olive oil should be there. A study by UC Davis showed about 70% of imported olive oil had defects that caused it to not meet the extra virgin standard. Something like 90% of California extra virgin olive oil tested did meet the standard.

[jammy]

I really like California olive oil. I wish it was easier to get in my part of Canada.

[smaki]

We prefer homemade mayonnaise with some combination of olive oil, grapeseed, safflower, peanut, walnut, coconut, flax seed, etc. If going to eat store-bought mayo made with soybean oil my go-to is now Kraft Homestyle Mayo on the left at:

http://www.designavs.com/pics/homestyle_mayonnaise_by_kraft_front.jpg

http://www.designavs.com/pics/homesty...

The new homestyle by Kraft is thicker - better flavor and texture than some. Note the extra bubbles in the jar in the pictures, they are there because it is thicker so does not settle as much in shipping.

Is it just me that Best Foods is not what recall it as a kid? For decades Best Foods used to be better than most while had more salt so would adjust my recipes, now Best Foods / Hellmann's tastes like the other mayos to me.

Would pay a bit more if mayo was in re-usable 32oz glass jars again. We could make pickles in and re-use with standard canning jar lids year after year as once did. Glass quart mayo jars were perfect for pickling for decades then sadly mayo shifted to 30oz plastic.