Homemade Mayonnaise in No Time at All--from a Brilliant New Book

 

February 19, 2017

 

Do you like homemade mayonnaise but you never have the patience for that drop-by-drop dripping of the olive oil? Here's a brand-new idea from "Naturally Nourished", by Sarah Britton (Appetite by Random House, 2017; 240p. illus. ISBN 978-0-449-01646-6).

 

The book is chockful of clever ideas for "healthy, delicious meals made with everyday ingredients." In fact, on my first pass through its pages I noted fifteen recipes that I absolutely have to try. I've made two of them so far (Coconut Zinger Black Bean Soup and Spicy Fricos). Next on my list will be her Fantastic Falafel Waffles--well-soaked but uncooked chickpeas, ground and mixed with falafel seasonings then baked on a waffle iron and served with Harissa Tahini Sauce. I can't wait!

 

But the most brilliant of all her brilliant ideas is her "Divine and Foolproof Mayonnaise", which goes like this (the asterisked comments are mine):

 

1 egg, room temperature*

 

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

 

2 pinches fine sea salt

 

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

 

3/4 c. cold-pressed olive oil**

 

1. Crack the egg into the bottom of a wide-mouth jar.*** Add the mustard, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil.****

 

2. Cover the entire egg with the head of an immersion blender (Note: this will not work with an upright blender) and blend on medium speed. When you can see that the mixture has thickened and turned white at the bottom of the jar, slowly move the blender up, waiting for the oil to be incorporated as you go, until you get the texture of mayonnaise.*****

 

3. Use immediately; refrigerate leftovers in an airtight jar for up to 1 month. The mayonnaise will thicken slightly once it has cooled in the fridge.

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*The fastest  way to bring a refrigerated egg to room temperature is to immerse it in a little bowl of hot water for five or so minutes.

 

**A wide-mouth Mason jar is good. I don't think the recipe would work if you used a small bowl. And with the jar, you can just store your freshly made mayonnaise in that same container; there's nivrually no clean-up, except for washing the head of the immersion blender.

 

***Two things about this: first, some people find a wholly olive oil mayo to be too strong (it certainly won't taste as bland as your store-bought kind). If you want, use half olive oil and half grapeseed oil or some other cold-pressed oil from the health food store. And second, conventional mayonnaise recipes call for a full cup of oil to one egg. There may be something about this method that keeps the yolk from absorbing more than 3/4 cup.

 

****Yes, that's right. Just pour the oil into the jar, on top of the egg, etc.

 

*****The whole process takes less than a minute. It's fantastic! You never again need to buy store-bought mayonnaise, with its preservatives and other additives.