Sunday, November 4, 2012

Mayonnaise

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Dear Mayonnaise,

How I thought you would be easy... especially if I followed the directions EXACTLY.  Well, you didn't end up working that way.  You ended up being kind of tricky.  I know you like to go slow, and you really like to take your time when mixing your eggs and your oil.  I now know that going slow is not the only thing I have to do.  I have to really pay close attention to how you two are getting along.   You need just the right amount of eggs (and lemon) to just the right amount of oil for the relationship work and not break apart.  If one over-powers the other, it just doesn't work.  You won't come together into one perfect union.  You break up and become an oily-gloppy mess.  I think I'm understanding this better.  Thanks for the learning experience.

Sincerely,
Me

The recipe I initially used (from "It Starts with Food", and can also be found on whole9life.com) said to use:

1 egg
2 T. lemon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. dry mustard powder
1/4 + 1 c. light-tasting olive oil

Well, from my experience, there is just too much oil.  The first time I made it, I didn't wait the full thirty minutes, so I thought it was my fault.  The second time I timed everything and poured the oil extremely slowly.  At one point, I thought to myself, "It doesn't seem to be mixing as well any more." About 3 seconds later, the mixture broke leaving an oily-gloppy mess.  I was pretty sure I had it figured out now, so I tried one more time.

Olive Oil Mayonnaise

1 egg + 1 yolk
1 T. lemon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. dry mustard powder
1/4 + 2/3-3/4 c. light tasting olive oil

Place the egg and lemon juice in the blender.  Cover for 30 minutes.  (After looking at a few different sites, I gathered that this step is to allow the acid in the lemon juice to kill off potential bacteria found in the raw egg.  The egg should also be at room temperature to emulsify with the oil more effectively.)  

Add salt, pepper, and 1/4 c. oil and blend until all the ingredients are combined.

While the blender is on at medium speed, take the remaining 3/4 c. oil and pour in as small of a stream as possible into the mixture.  Allow it to fully combine.  At the point at which you think you see the oil starting to settle at the top and not mix well, stop pouring the oil.  I had definitely added more than 2/3 c. more, but not the full 3/4 c. The varying amounts probably has to do with various sizes (slightly) of eggs, the temperature of the eggs and the oil, the speed at which you pour, etc.  It might take a couple of batches, but it really isn't difficult to make it.



Use the mayonnaise in:

Coleslaw Dressing
Ranch Dressing
Guacamole (add 1-2 T. to make it EXTRA creamy and smooth) 

or in any other way you would typically use store-bought mayonnaise

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