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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Homemade Mayonnaise

YAY!!! I did it!!  I finally did it!!!  I actually made my own mayonnaise!!! And it actually came together perfectly!!  WOOHOO!!!

Ok, now that that is out of my system...let's talk mayo.  First, I need to apologize for the pictures...they did not turn out as great as I would have liked, but in my defense, it's really hard to take pictures of a bowl of mayonnaise!!  Second, you should know that olive oil does not work .. at least not extra virgin olive oil.  Or I should say, at least not the extra virgin olive oil I used.  Oh, it works.. I mean, you were just looking at a picture of mayo made with olive oil.  BUT, it did not taste right.  It had that distinctive flavor that extra virgin olive oil carries and it wasn't perfect.  But that's ok... I actually got it to emulsify and turn into actual mayonnaise and that was what I was going for.  The taste did leave something to be desired, but that's ok, now I know I can make it.  (YAY)

So my advice to you:  use the recommended oil... do not, I repeat, do not just use whatever you have on hand...in this case, that is a big mistake!

I have to tell you this funny story, though, before I get to the recipe.  So, I knew that my friend Andrea (The Kitchen Witch) had just recently made homemade mayonnaise, so I couldn't wait to tell her that I had made my own too.  I email her and tell her how happy I was that I got it to emulsify, but oh lordy did my arm hurt.   Her email back to me was "you did it by hand?"  Well yes, I did it by hand, I followed Alton Brown's recipes and that's what he did.  Andrea, being the true friend she is, laughed and said, wow, you are a better woman than me (or something close to that), I used my stand mixer.  WHAT???  Stand mixer???  You can use that???  LOL  Sure enough, I went back to Andrea's post and what do you know... she did it with her stand mixer.  DAMN that girl is smart!!  So even though I have left the recipe as I did it....you might want to consider using your stand mixer if you have one.  Cause I will tell you... my arm hurt for two days!!!  LOL  Either that, or hire a sous chef to help you out on this one!!  Your arm will thank you!

Homemade Mayonnaise
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, The Food Network
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoons fine salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 pinches of granulated sugar (about a 1/4 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 cup oil, corn or canola

Directions:
In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolk and the dry ingredients.  Combine lemon juice and vinegar in a separate bowl then thoroughly whisk half into the egg yolk mixture.  Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit (which means you've got an emulsion on your hands..YAY!!!).  Once you've reached that point you can relax your arm a little bit (but just a little bit) and increase the oil flow to a constant, yet thin, stream.  Once half the oil is in, whisk in the remaining lemon/vinegar mixture.  Continue whisking until all the oil is incorporated.  Leave at room temperature for 1 hour.  Refrigerate up to a week.

12 comments:

StephenC said...

What's the answer to the question, "What should I whip up?" Mayo, of course.

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I'm still laughing over that one Jenn! How's the arm doing anyway? :) The mayo looks good, nice & creamy - your excessive arm pain was not in vain. Good to know about the EVOO not tasting right - that's a pricey lesson to learn :( Thanks for the shout out, you're the best Jenn!!!

Unknown said...

Yay! Well-done. I had the same reaction when I made my first home-made mayo. It's so rewarding isn't it? I did it by hand too and it's a good work out. :)
OK, now I need some chips (fries).

Yenta Mary said...

I'm so proud of you! I've never made mayonnaise myself, but now that you and Andrea have done it I may just take the challenge!

SnoWhite said...

wow! nice work, jenn :)

Big Dude said...

Congrats on your success. I've made it two or three times and I believe I used the immersion blender. I tried olive oil and ended up throwing it out. None of the ones I made were as good as Hellman's, so I gave up. I may give it one more try with your recipe to see if it can beat out my new favorite Duke's.

The Glamorous Gourmet said...

Congratulations! I think you mayo looks delish - I can understand how Extra Virgin Olive Oil would make it taste strange though. It can have a very distinct flavor! Good for your for doing it by hand - even if next time you will use your stand mixer. Great story:)

Chris said...

Hilarious! I saw one that uses an immersion blender in a tall glass.

Mary Bergfeld said...

How long will it be before your arms look like those of Michele Obama? I should be ashamed to admit this, but I make mine in the blender. Have a great weekend. Blessings...Mary

Unknown said...

good for you! I always say I am going to make my own but never do - you have inspired me to try!

Angie's Recipes said...

Great! I like homemade mayonnaise too.

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