Homemade Mayonnaise: Technique, Troubleshooting, Storage

[Shalmanese]

So I was thinking today about making mayo and you need to be really careful at the start to drip the oil in slowly to form a stable emulsion. I was thinking, instead of liquid oil at the start, why not use oil spray? It has lecithin in it so it adds to the emulsifying power and it comes out in little droplets already so you don't need to worry about breaking it up. It seems like a few spritzes of spray at the start would make a mayo come together so much faster.

Has anyone tried this?

[Bonnie Ruth]

My rule of thumb is to use a whole egg with a blender, and egg yolks when using a hand held whisk.  In both cases the oil needs to be added gradually, but there is more room for error with the blender approach.  And yes, mustard is great for adding to the stability of the emulsion.

The yolk only mayonnaise is more traditional and gives a richer, thicker result, lovely and wobbly! Although I love EVOO, I find it too overpowering for a mayonnaise.

If you add garlic at the beginning, you will have aioli (the French name for garlic mayonnaise), which is great for crutidees/dipping sticks of raw vegetables.

Let us know how you get on!

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Thanks for your advice and tips Corinna. This is the recipe I've settled on though I intend to increase the amount of dry mustard, paprika, and cayenne called for. The source is Astray Recipes.

1 large Egg

1 tablespoon Vinegar

½ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Dry Mustard

⅛ teaspoon Paprika

1 dash Cayenne Pepper

1 cup Salad Oil

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Put the egg, vinegar, salt, dry mustard, paprika, and cayenne in a blender container, blending until well mixed. With the blender RUNNING SLOWLY, gradually pour half of the salad oil into the blender container. (When necessary, stop the blender and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides.) Add the lemon juice to the mixture in the blender and slowly pour the remainder of the salad oil into the blender container, with the blender running slowly. Makes about 1 1/4 cups. Recipe By : From: Marjorie Scofield

I'll definitely report back with my results, good, bad or ugly.

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Okay, I got all inspired by this thread and made mayonnaise for the first time yesterday, using the variation of the Marjorie Scofield recipe. I made it to use on potato salad, which I made from an old Joy of Cooking recipe that calls for marinating the potatoes in homemade french dressing before adding homemade mayonnaise. I had previously ignored the homemade mayonnaise part and used commercial mayonnaise. It was much, much better with the homemade! I am hooked. It was a lovely, bright flavor that I never got before.

I do, however, have some questions about the recipe. What kind of blender do you have, that you can talk about running it very slowly? My Waring has just low and high, and even low is powerful enough that I rarely use high for anything. I had the ingredients all blended to the point I was supposed to start adding the oil, and I just couldn't see doing it in there. So I dumped everything into a bowl and whisked the oil in by hand. The emulsion was fine, but really thin. So then I put it back in the blender, and it thickened immediately.

My mixer will run slowly. Wouldn't it be better to do this in there? Or with an immersion blender?

Edited April 16, 2007 by Bonnie Ruth (log)

[andiesenji]

I used the bowl that came with my immerson blender (Braun) for the eGCi condiment course for the aioli (garlic mayonnaise), and it worked extremely well.

Most immerson blenders do come with a mixer cup or jar which is a good size.

If your stand mixer has a small bowl, that would work quite well because I assume you are not going to make a large batch.

The hand mixers with the wire-whisk as an optional beater, work very well. Do not use one of the soft plastic bowls - use an acrilic, stainless steel, glass or porcelain bowl - you want something that is non-porous.

I think you will all enjoy this story that I came across yesterday.

It involves homemade mayonnaise too!

I mentioned in another thread about the curious little hole at the bottom of the pusher in Cuisinart food processors. As mentioned in this story, it is ideal for adding oil while the processor is running.

Some of the early copy-cat food processors lacked this little helpful modification, but I think more of them do have it now.

If you scroll down to page 12 in these instructions for the Cuisinart 14 cup, you will see their instructions for mayonnaise.

Cuisinart instructions

Edited April 16, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[alanamoana]

Alana,

Different experts offer different opinions, of course.

From Cook's Illustrated, July, 1998:

"Several food scientists with whom we checked offered theories regarding the effect of chilling on emulsions.  Dr. Bruce Watkins, Associate professor of Food Science and Nutrition at Purdue University, mentioned that chilling changes the behavior or some of the components in the egg yolk.  For instance, lipoproteins gel at lower temperatures, and triglycerides, which are crystalline in structure, grow larger and more stable.  Both of these factors might well contribute stability and body to the emulsion.  Dr. Watkins also mentioned that these substances become less hydrophobic as temperatures decrease, which means they are less resistant to water.    Their increased willingness to accept water would also add to the stability of an emulsion."

"Dr. Kenneth Hall, Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut, added that chilling slows down molecular activity, which, in effect, makes ingredients thicker.  The thicker the ingredients are to begin with, the thicker and more stable the resulting emulsion will be."

And I thought McGee put me to sleep with too much information.

Tim

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Thanks Tiim for playing devil's (egg) advocate. Sometimes, I wear my blinders when it comes to McGee and forget there are other scientists out there as well...they just haven't written a book with all that information in one place .

Ciao,

Alana

[andiesenji]

I like McGee too. I have had his first book since it was initially published, as well as his second books and the new version of the first one.

I like the way he explains the reasons why things work the way they do. However, there are a few statements with which I disagree because my experience has been different.

(However that is only for the way I work in MY kitchen.)

I know what works for me and habits developed over nearly 60 years are difficult to change.

Everyone has to seek the way that is comfortable for them.

[infernooo]

I guess it could work provided it has no additives or too much propellant is mixed in with the oil... a lot of those sprays tend to be very foamy.

I just use the mini-blender-bowl attachment to a hand blender to get it going, never had a problem !

[glennbech]

I just use the mini-blender-bowl attachment to a hand blender to get it going, never had a problem !

I echo that... It's only a matter of beeing *real* carefull in the beginning. Once the emulsion gets going, it gets a lot more tolerant. Practice Practice! The good thing about a mayo, is that it's relatively easy to start from scratch... If you break a emulsion sauce however, like the Bernaise .... You need to start over with charlots, wine, blah blah blah... Not funny! :-)

Also... Beeing a little bit of a "purist", im not sure I'd like that spray veggie oil in my mayo, even if it's just a little bit. The once available here in Norway even smells a bit funny...

This leads me to a question... Is there any way to "rescue" a broken mayo?

[Corinna Dunne]

Yes, if you start all over again, with a new yolk, you can gradually add the split mixture to it. Click here for more details on a recent thread on making mayonnaise. You will find the links to the EGCI course at the beginning.

[ermintrude]

A Chef friend of mine can make mayonnaise 3 weeks a month the other 1 week when her period kicks in it always splits.

Me, it's always been random, sometimes it works sometimes not. However not one failure using a thermomix!

[Bonnie Ruth]

A Chef friend of mine can make mayonnaise 3 weeks a month the other 1 week when her period kicks in it always splits.

You're kidding, right?

[ermintrude]

A Chef friend of mine can make mayonnaise 3 weeks a month the other 1 week when her period kicks in it always splits.

You're kidding, right?

←

Nope, it's a standing joke amongst us

[BadRabbit]

When making homemade Mayo and other sauces, will using pasteurized eggs extend the shelf life? Will certain oils make the sauce last longer? Are there commonly available additives (besides salt obviously) that might extend the life?

What about bernaise/hollandaise type sauces? Is there any way to make them more durable?

[budrichard]

I cook my eggs for 3-4 minutes before making a Mayo.

The life of a homemade Mayo is what it is, the reason so few retaurants serve a true Mayo based sauce such as Hollandaise.-Dick

[Dave the Cook]

When making homemade Mayo and other sauces, will using pasteurized eggs extend the shelf life? Will certain oils make the sauce last longer? Are there commonly available additives (besides salt obviously) that might extend the life?

What about bernaise/hollandaise type sauces? Is there any way to make them more durable?

For mayonnaise, refined oils work better than unrefined oils like extra-virgin olive oil. Although EVOO lends a great taste to mayo, the oil droplets created during emulsification coalesce in a relatively short period (see McGee, page 635, for a more complete explanation). Use unrefined oils as flavorings, rather than bases, for mayonnaise.

It's also often possible to re-emulsify a mayonnaise that appears to have broken by stirring in a little water.

Hollandaise and its relatives can be revived very slowly in a double boiler (though you should not let the water actually boil) or a carefully-watched microwave using repeated applications of low power. It's unlikely that you'll be able to get them back to their original serving temperature, but you can get them well above room temperature (as in, you can make them pourable) if you're attentive.

I cook my eggs for 3-4 minutes before making a Mayo.

The life of a homemade Mayo is what it is, the reason so few retaurants serve a true Mayo based sauce such as Hollandaise.-Dick

Hollandaise is not a mayonnaise-based sauce. They have eggs and fat in common, but the application of heat and specific use of butter rather than vegetable oil in making the former are significant differences.

[cmling]

I cook my eggs for 3-4 minutes before making a Mayo.

The life of a homemade Mayo is what it is, the reason so few retaurants serve a true Mayo based sauce such as Hollandaise.-Dick

I fail to understand this. I make mayonnaise with egg yolks, uncooked, of course? There is another (better?) way?

[BadRabbit]

I am not sure the question about pasteurization was answered. I have a sous vide rig and can easily pasteurize my own eggs but don't want to lose the quality of the mayonnaise if it won't improve shelf life. Will it improve shelf life or just the safety of the sauce?

[David A. Goldfarb]

QimiQ! (just kidding)

[Dave the Cook]

I'm not sure whether or not pasteurization will extend shelf life, though perhaps it's noteworthy that commercial producers use pasteurized eggs. What it will do is protect you from the slight chance of salmonella (roughly 1 in 20,000 eggs is the latest information I've seen). I doubt that it would have a deleterious effect on your mayonnaise.

Manufacturers often add calcium disodium EDTA, which is a preservative of sorts.

P.S. If you're interesting in other mayo experiments, try the frozen-yolk version.

[BadRabbit]

I'm not sure whether or not pasteurization will extend shelf life, though perhaps it's noteworthy that commercial producers use pasteurized eggs. What it will do is protect you from the slight chance of salmonella (roughly 1 in 20,000 eggs is the latest information I've seen). I doubt that it would have a deleterious effect on your mayonnaise.

Manufacturers often add calcium disodium EDTA, which is a preservative of sorts.

P.S. If you're interesting in other mayo experiments, try the frozen-yolk version.

If it's not likely to have an effect on the product, I will probably just do it anyway. The eggs I'm using are what we refer to as "Yard Eggs" so their incidence of salmonella is likely higher that commercially produced eggs (or at least the incidence levels are more unknown).

What temperature and time should I use to pasteurize?

[Dave the Cook]

Most resources I've seen say 140­ to 145 F for 3-1/2 to 4 minutes. You could go higher for less time, but the yolk will start to coagulate.

[ray goud]

Most resources I've seen say 140­ to 145 F for 3-1/2 to 4 minutes. You could go higher for less time, but the yolk will start to coagulate.

The times and temps for pastuerizing refer to the INTERNAL temp of the egg. That is a difficult thing to determine. I solved that problem a couple of years ago by inserting a thermocouple into the center of a raw egg, crazy-glued the piercing, and proceeded to monitor the temp/time profile. It is not something you want to do every month, never mind once a week or so. If the heat goes too high and/or too long the yolk begins to coagulate and the mayo becomes quite a bit more difficult to make. I found that the Julia Child method of using cooked egg yolks, as described in "Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home" is much easier and totally safe. Or, you could be fortunate enough to live close by an outlet which offers eggs pasteurized in-the-shell. Unfortunately I don't have that opportunity in CT. As far as "yard eggs" being more likely to have salmonella, not so. Generally those producers care a little (or much more) about their product and watch for any problems. On a final note, anyone who believes the industry/FDA claim about one in 20,000 eggs figure, I have a bridge I could sell you.

Ray

[bmdaniel]

I pasteurize at 135 for an hour and a half per doug Baldwin. I make my mayo that way now that my wife is pregnant - I wouldn't bother otherwise.

[BadRabbit]

As far as "yard eggs" being more likely to have salmonella, not so. Generally those producers care a little (or much more) about their product and watch for any problems.

You misunderstand me. I live in the country and these eggs come from a lady who literally has the chickens walking around in her yard and a henhouse out back. She is a sweet old lady but she probably thinks Salmonella is a fish.

[budrichard]

The salmonella problem as I understand it, is that the poultry industry suffers from contamination that has spread throughout the industry. Your 'yard eggs' ,may actually be safer than commercial if the producer is careful not to contaminate the eggs after gathering.

We rountinely use quail eggs raw in Japanese cuisine because that industry does not suffer from the poultry problem with chickens. Never have had a problem.

My heat treatment resulted from my experimentation to find a suitable time of immersion in simmering water versas the quality of the result. Sometimes I do have failures though and never have been able to isolate the reason but no one has become sick.

Mea culpa, yes hollandaise and mayo are different preps. It took me a while and a few tries but I eventually learned to make hollandaise over direct heat. It certainly speeds up the process.-Dick

[PaulDWeiss]

By the way, you can make a great mayonaise starting from a sabayon, which is cooked, and which therefore lets you ignore the whole pasteurizing hassle. Check out James Peterson's Sauces, or Madeline Kamman's The Making of a Cook if you haven't made an emulsion sauce from a sabayon before; it's easy. I personally believe that the sabayon-based sauce has a lower probability of breaking, but your mileage may differ. On the other hand, you can make egg-less mayonaise, based on traditional aïoli recipes which use only garlic smashed to a paste in a mortar to bind the emulsion. More work, but not so worrisome if the sauce has to spend a long time out of the frigo.

I find that the best tip for extending the life of emulsion sauces is to be careful about exposure to air, and also to only take them out of the refrigerator just to spoon the amount needed into a service dish, and then hustle the rest back into the refrigerator. Storing them in a just-large-enough glass container instead of plastic helps, as does a tightly-fitting hermetic seal at the lid. A bit of plastic foil lightly pressed down on to the surface of the remaining sauce before screwing the cover down helps reduce discoloration at the surface.

Really, though, the best plan would be to rewire your conception, so that you think of putting together a mayonaise for the meal at which you're going to eat it, instead of thinking of it as something to keep in the refrigerator. Especially if you'll get comfortable with making a sabayon over direct heat, making the mayonaise (or Béarnaise, or Hollandaise) is pretty quick work, and it's always best when just made. I'd argue that, especially for the warm emulsion sauces, the difference between freshly made and stored is the difference between worth eating and not. With your enviable source of eggs, I'd encourage you to start thinking of fresh-made sauce from just-laid eggs as a luxury that most of the world can't even experience.

Paul

Edited May 15, 2010 by PaulDWeiss (log)