Page 512 - YC Cooking School

Make a quick and light mayonnaise

Mayonnaise has a pretty bad reputation for behaving like a spoiled child in the kitchen by
being temperamental and unpredictable. But if you follow a few basic rules, you can have

your own wholesome, preservative-free version in the fridge in about five minutes.

Use quality ingredients for best results
Good quality, fresh eggs, an acid such as red-wine vinegar or lime juice and oil are the three
essential ingredients for homemade mayo. It’s best to use a mildly flavoured cooking oil like

sunflower or canola oil as olive oil in mayonnaise can be quite overpowering. Before getting
started, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.

Reduce the oil content
Love mayo but watching your waistline? A helpful tip to reduce the oil content in

mayonnaise is to add in half an avocado. It’s better for you and the result will still be
perfectly creamy. Remember that avocado has a tendency to go brown when exposed to air,
and although the lime juice will help to slow down this process, an avo mayo is best made
just before you want to eat it.

The simple science behind mayonnaise

Another name for a mayonnaise is an emulsion, which is what happens when two
ingredients (like water and oil) that ordinarily wouldn’t enjoy close quarters are combined. A
permanent emulsion or mayonnaise is made possible with vigorous mixing (using a whisk,
blender or food processor) plus egg yolks, which act as a binding agent, keeping the oil and
water attached to each other.

Tools you’ll need to make mayo
Purists would say that a bowl and a whisk (and significant elbow grease) are the best tools
for the job, and there is merit in that - you have more control, and can make smaller
portions. However, a jug or stick blender will give you almost-instant and less tiring results.

How to combine the ingredients
If you’re making mayo with a whisk and bowl, it’s essential to pour in the oil slowly, so that it
doesn’t saturate the emulsion and cause it to split. If you’re using a food processor or
blender, this isn’t quite as important because the friction caused by the blade allows the oil
particles to break up more effectively and become suspended in the water particles. To be
on the safe side, add a small amount of oil at first, blend, allow it to emulsify and then add
the rest. Once your mayonnaise reaches the desired consistency, you can add other
flavourings such as garlic, mustard and spices until it tastes just as you like it.

Saving a split mayonnaise
Split mayonnaise? Never fear, it’s easy to save it. Whisk another egg yolk in a separate bowl
and then slowly pour it into the split mayonnaise, whisking as you go. Crisis averted.

2/5