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Quick and Easy Dinners 2

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A guide to perfect homemade mayonnaise

Follow the simple ratio for mayonnaise
Good cooking is based on simple ratios. For mayonnaise, use one egg yolk to one cup of oil.

Create an emulsion
Persuading egg yolks, vinegar and mustard to combine or emulsify with oil is a tough task.
They contain water, which doesn’t like to spend time in close quarters with oil (think of what
happens when you add a few drops of oil to a pot of water). But hope is not lost. Egg yolk
contains an emulsifying agent that allows these substances to combine permanently. To get
this to work, there are still a few golden rules that need to be followed and it can get a little
tricky. The end result is completely worth it though – a beautiful, creamy emulsion,
otherwise known as mayonnaise.

Use fresh, free-range eggs
Eggs are the heroes of a mayonnaise, so it’s important that they are as fresh as possible.
You won’t be cooking the eggs for this recipe – another reason to use fresh eggs and to
enjoy all your mayo within a few days of making it. Free-range eggs are always best.

All your ingredients should be at room temperature
You’ll struggle to make a successful mayonnaise emulsion if some of your ingredients are
colder than others.

Add the oil slowly but surely
Start by adding one drop of oil at a time to the egg yolk and then increase it to a slow trickle,
especially if you’re doing it by hand. Slow and steady wins this race.

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