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Monday, September 16, 2013

Basic Mayonnaise



Making mayonnaise still seems like a byproduct of alchemy to me somehow, even though I've proven to myself once that's not true. It's very straight-forward, not at all a mysterious event. This time I thought I'd try a different recipe so dusted off one of my few cookbooks.

Basic Mayonnaise
adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
click to print

1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
salt, a pinch
3/4 c peanut oil
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Rinse a 1-quart bowl with hot water; dry. Add egg yolk and whisk vigorously until thick and sticky.

You can tell I rinsed and immediately dried the bowl - there are no water spots.

Stir in Dijon mustard, salt, and white wine vinegar.

Night-time imaging sucks. My Dijon mustard is not orange.

Whisk in peanut oil by droplets until the the mixture begins to thicken (at least 1/3 of the oil will have been added), the whisk in the remaining oil in a thin, steady stream.

Without a third arm or a tripod (and still a third arm), I can't capture all of the whisking. Just know I followed the instructions and this part took 15 minutes.

Add the extra-virgin olive oil at the end; season to taste with salt and white wine vinegar.


Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.


My arm is going to fall off but I did it. I made mayonnaise for the second time ever and it's stupid simple. I can't believe I used to buy mayonnaise which, if you think about it, is a mystery. How can raw eggs be kept for so long on a store shelf at room temperature?

FYI, when I decided to get rolling on this, I hadn't planned in advance and wanted to start on it ASAP. I placed my refrigerated egg in a bowl of lukewarm water for just a few minutes to get it up to room temperature.


Cost:
  • egg: $0.30
  • Dijon mustard: $0.16
  • peanut oil: $1.27
  • extra-virgin olive oil: $0.03
Total: $1.76 for just over a cup of mayo.

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