Homemade mayonnaise?

[Cairycat]

I just attempted making mayo myself for the first time. It's okay, I guess. It doesn't seem to be separating into oil and eggs, so it must be blended enough.

It's much yellower than store bought mayo. I used eggs from the farmers market, the yolks are much yellower than regular eggs. For oil I used half light olive oil and half canola.

I used an immersion blender in a wide-mouth Mason jar. It wasn't wide enough to hold the blender and pour the oil in slowly. Some places say you can just put egg yolks, then vinegar/lemon juice and salt, then all the oil and just blend with the stick blender til it's emulsified.

So I'd be most interested in your tips, experiences, methods, etc. Thanks!

[Major Nikon]

1. LIke any emulsion I add the oil a little at a time

Especially at first when the emulsion is just beginning. An immersion blender is just a bit too fast for me, so I usually use a hand or stand mixer. Most of the time I use light olive oil because I always have it on hand, but I think corn or canola oil works a little better because it's a bit more neutral in taste.

Because I use one egg yolk and ground mustard as an emulsifier, the results turn out a bit yellow unlike commercial mayo, but the taste is better.

[pscot]

2. How you add the oil matters more

if you're whipping it by hand. With power tools, not so much

[Warpy]

3. First, homemade will always be a lot yellower because you used egg yolk instead of lecithin

to maximize the amount of oil you could cram in there. It's also going to be more like a sauce than a frosting in consistency.

Second, drizzling the oil in is the only way to go. I would imagine you could get away with using an ultra high powered stick blender after you'd dumped everything in there, the sensible home blenders just won't do the job.

Third, the wide mouth jar and stick blender is the way to go, innit? That way, the cleanup is a total breeze. Stick blenders are the best things, ever!

ETA: I will always remember Julia Child's instructions, "whip the egg yolk until it is pale yellow and sticky with rage!" I've always found that the essential first step, breaking it down and releasing its lecithin so the emulsion can be started.

[csziggy]

4. I've made it with a stick blender and whole eggs

Using this recipe:

2 eggs
½ - 1 teaspoon brown mustard
¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed garlic
½ - 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 ½ cups oil

Put everything into a wide mouth jar, place your stick blender all the way to the bottom and turn it on. Wait for a second until it starts to emulsify at the bottom and then slowly pull the blender towards the top. {Alternate method: Hold the blade on the bottom of the cup, turn it on to the fast speed for 20 seconds then move up & down slowly until completely mixed.} By the time you get there, you'll have mayo right in the jar that you'll keep it in! No more cleaning out a blender or food processor!

I varied the seasonings, type of oil, type of vinegar and amount of lemon juice depending on how I felt. The taste was never quite the same as store bought mayo - not really a bad thing - but I never had a problem with getting it to emulsify or with it separating.

[eridani]

5. Using the entire egg is good. I was reluctant to try to make it at home--

--because I hate, hate, HATE recipes that call for only whites or only yolks. Like you, I found that it didn't really make any difference.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

6. I make mayo with essentially this recipe

However, my wife, who grew up eating Hellmans, insists she prefers the store-bought stuff.

[MrMickeysMom]

7. Laurel's Kitchen recipe was my tried and true...

Tasted just like real mayonnaise BUT, I just threw out this old cookbook!!!

BUT, here's the recipe, anyway-

I use a good immersion beater attached to the mini mixer that comes with my Bamix. It keeps well in fridge, I recall.

1 egg
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. mustard powder
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 cup of oil
Put egg, salt, mustard, and vinegar in blender with 1/4 c. of the oil. Blend on low.

[DawgHouse]

8. I make my own mayo all the time!

It takes no time at all and I like to make different kinds, especially chipotle mayo! I use the recipe from serious eats. I have substituted champagne vinegar for the lemon juice and it's good too.

Put the oil in the jar all at once, and let it settle for a few minutes before you put the immersion blender in the jar and blend it. The stick blender creates a vortex and pulls the oil down into the blades so it simulates streaming the oil.

The video will explain it better!

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/10/the-food-lab-homemade-mayo-in-2-minutes-or-le.html