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).
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.
