Homemade Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is less a recipe than a piece of physics. Oil and water do not mix, but egg yolk carries lecithin and lipoproteins that wrap every droplet of oil and stop them merging back together. The whole technique comes down to one thing: at the start the oil has to go in slowly enough for each droplet to be sheared small.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Servings
- 12
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 185 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Extra virgin olive oil turns bitter when whipped — use refined sunflower or grapeseed oil and stir in a spoonful of olive oil at the end.
Makes: about 300 ml
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Bring everything to room temperature
Take the eggs out an hour ahead. Cold yolk and cold oil break into droplets badly, and the emulsion collapses while you are still whisking.
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Step 2: Start the base
In a deep bowl whisk the yolks with the mustard, salt, sugar and half the vinegar for about 30 seconds. The mustard is an emulsifier in its own right and backs the yolk up.
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Step 3: First 50 ml, drop by drop
Add the oil literally a drop at a time, whisking without pause. While the water phase still outweighs the oil, every droplet has time to be broken up and coated.
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Step 4: Then a thin stream
Once the mixture has visibly paled and thickened, pour the oil in a thin steady stream. The sauce stiffens because the droplets become so crowded they press against each other.
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Step 5: Loosen and season
Whisk in the rest of the vinegar and the spoonful of warm water. Water restores flow and actually stabilises the emulsion — without it mayonnaise is stiff and breaks more easily.
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Step 6: If it splits
In a clean bowl whisk a fresh yolk, or a teaspoon of mustard, and dribble the broken mixture into it drop by drop. It comes back together; nothing needs throwing away.
Tips & variations
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Tip
One yolk comfortably holds about 150 ml of oil. Push past that and the emulsion turns fragile and breaks at the slightest knock.
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Variation
With a stick blender in a tall jar it takes 20 seconds using a whole egg: keep the blade on the bottom until a white cap forms, then lift it slowly.
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Swap
Extra virgin olive oil turns bitter when whipped — use refined sunflower or grapeseed oil and stir in a spoonful of olive oil at the end.
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Storage
Three to four days in a sealed jar in the fridge. The yolks are raw, so use the freshest eggs, and pasteurised ones for children or during pregnancy.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 12 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 185 kcal | 2,220 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g | 12 g |
| Fat | 20 g | 240 g |
| Carbohydrates | 1 g | 12 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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