Posted on by Meg Cotner

The Simplest Mayonnaise Technique

Last summer, I came upon a curious way to make mayonnaise. Described on the Seeds of Nutrition blog, it sounded incredible – it promised smooth, creamy mayonnaise that didn’t involve any tedious drizzling of oil, and it utilized a stick blender put it all together. It also claimed to do it in a flash.  Whoa.

I watched the video of the process and was truly amazed. I promised myself I’d try it out. Finally, eight months later, I gave it a shot… and was fully impressed.  I will never make mayonnaise another way, if I can help it.

One of the reasons I was so impressed by this method is that it is painfully simple in both concept and execution. I’ve made mayo a couple other ways, and both had their pitfalls. The first time, I did it by hand; it turned out just fine, but it sure was tiring.  I remember taking a number of breaks during the process because at times my upper arm felt like it was on fire!

The second time I made mayonnaise was with a blender. I thought the opening in the top of the lid would allow me to easily drip in the oil while the blades were spinning, no fuss no muss. My distinct memory is of how much splatter there was – all over the cabinets, counter, and even on the floor.  In my hair. Not a pretty sight.

So, when I was putting together things for the fermentation workshop I recently taught, fermented mayo came to mind.  I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone by making it – trying out this new technique and expanding my fermentation repertoire.  Why ferment this mayonnaise?  To preserve it, if course!  Fermenting it with whey will extend its life into months rather than weeks. It turned out perfectly.

I chose to use the mayonnaise recipe in Nourishing Traditions. I used a 50/50 ratio of extra virgin olive oil and expeller-pressed sunflower oil.  I also used dijon mustard, fresh organic lemon juice, sea salt, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.  Everything was at room temperature, too (this is crucial).

Essentially, you put the mustard, lemon juice, salt, and eggs in the bottom of the stick blender vessel.  Let that settle for a couple of minutes. Then pour in the oil. Plunge the stick blender into the vessel, make sure it’s flush with the bottom, then start the blender, a few pulses at first, then let it go and watch the mayonnaise form into a creamy consistency (as if by magic!). Be sure to incorporate all the oil into the mayo by slowly pulling up the blender through the mass.  This should take about 30 seconds to blend.

Here are the amounts for each element in the NT mayo recipe:

1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs whey
3/4-1 cup oil (a mix of extra virgin olive oil and expeller-pressed sunflower oil)
a generous pinch of sea salt

To ferment it, just cover it and leave it out for several hours (I left it out overnight, as I made it around 9 at night). Then refrigerate it.

I believe that you could use any mayonnaise recipe with this blending method – I’ve seen other mayonnaise recipes that utilize the stick blender, and use slightly different ingredients (addition of vinegar, different oils, etc.).

I’m so glad to have such an easy recipe.  It’s so quick to make, and I plan to use it in my favorite chicken salad recipe (instead of Hellman’s or Kraft, which contain oils I don’t want to consume).

I’d love to know how this method suits you when making mayonnaise, so please feel free to share in the comments or send me an email. Good luck!

This post is participating in Fight Back Friday hosted by Food Renegade.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

11 Replies to “The Simplest Mayonnaise Technique”

  1. Huh! Here I’ve been trying to get rid of our dumb stick blender, which I never use for anything. Maybe it will finally earn its keep! I’m very curious to try this–thanks!

  2. It’s crazy that I’ve never tried making mayonnaise when it’s this easy! And it’s great to find another use for the stick blender, I really only use it for soups.

    1. I love my stick blender and am only beginning to discover its myriad uses. I puree tomatoes for curry; grind up nuts; puree soups; and now mayo.

  3. Can you educate me on the fermenting? I’m putting my ignorance out there for the world but everything in me scream that leaving eggs out for several hour seems bad. And where does one get whey?

  4. I made my own mayo once, using only olive oil. It was good but the taste was strong. Knowing that I don’t have to do the drizzle method means I am going to give it a try again soon. Thanks for the tip!

  5. Hi Meg – I attended your fermentation workshop last month, and just tried making the mayonnaise. I’m finding my version to be a little thin and soupy – but I pretty much followed the recipe. Is there a trick to making it thicker? Right now I’m fermenting on the counter, so perhaps a few days in the fridge might help?

    1. It will firm up a little bit in the fridge – also, it will have a looser consistency than something like Hellman’s/Best Foods because it doesn’t have stabilizers or anything else to make it gel. It’s essential that all the ingredients be at room temperature and to let the mustard, eggs, and lemon juice settle for a couple of minutes before adding the oil. Also, really keep an eye on everything when it first starts to come together – make sure it’s developing a thick consistency at the bottom – you should feel some resistance all around the blade end of the stick blender – then pull it up slowly making sure everything is incorporating. If you ever want to come by my place, we can make it together sometime! Just let me know…

    1. Thanks for the info, Chris. I’ve heard really good things about Chaffin olive oils, that they are great for mayonnaise, among other things. I know Cheeseslave speaks highly of your oils!

Comments are closed.