Make Mayonnaise Yourself By Mixing Two Unmixable Items

If you want to make mayonnaise from scratch, all you need to know is a six syllable word, e-mul-sif-ic-a-tion.  Emulsification is the mixing of two unmixable ingredients.  If you can get oil and water to stay mixed together, you’re a magician.  If you mix oil and vinegar, then you’re a student in my culinary college class today.

Yesterday, we discussed oil and vinegar dressings called vinaigrettes in How To Make Salad Dressings With 3 Ingredients and identified the shaking or whisking of oil into vinegar as a temporary emulsification.  The oil and vinegar dressing will stay mixed for a few minutes, long enough to pour onto your salad, but then soon separate.  But, nobody wants their mayonnaise to separate.  We need a permanent mixing of the ingredients.

You can make mayonnaise by whisking oil into egg yolks and vinegar.  Normally, the oil and vinegar would never mix, but it’s the egg yolk that acts as a liaison, bringing the items together.  The introduction of the egg will make this a permanent emulsification and the two ingredients will stay together in a consistent texture

It’s a simple procedure because there are very few ingredients, but it does take a bit of practice and skill.  To create a proper emulsification between vinegar, oil and egg yolk, you must follow a specific process.  Then, you can start changing the flavors for your own desire.

First, separate two eggs, using only the yolks and saving the whites for another use.  Many chefs will instruct to add vinegar to the egg yolks and then the oil.  I disagree because vinegars can coagulate proteins.  Coagulation of yolk protein means little bits of scrambled egg in your mayonnaise.  This is not a desirable outcome.

With only the egg yolks in a mixing bowl, pour just a few drops of oil and start to whisk.  This is a very delicate process where adding the oil too quickly will break the emulsion and ruin the entire thing!  The second addition of oil whisked into the yolks should also be very slight.

Then, while constantly whisking, add oil in a very thin, slow stream to the beaten egg yolks.  If you’re doing it correctly, you should feel the yolks getting thicker.  As the eggs start looking more like mayo, you can add oil in a faster stream, incorporating as much as you’d like to reach the texture you desire.

Once your emulsification is achieved, then you can add any vinegars or flavoring you want to make mayonnaise that is uniquely yours.