We took a little walk this weekend. I made it into a photo shoot. I can’t help myself. We have so many photos on our computer that we’ve taken to buying yearly subscriptions for online backup. If I lost them, I wouldn’t know what to do. I need them to be saved elsewhere, far away, so if anything ever happened, I would at least have those memories.
Oh yeah, and there was this too. We’ve recently become obsessed with craft brewed ales. Although we’ve always bought beer from local artisan breweries, it’s only recently we’ve expanded our reach to international craft brewed ales. Such as these lovely specimens from Dogfish Head. Love them, all of them.
I never saw myself as liking beer when I was younger. But then we started to attend this local festival, The Great Canadian Beerfest. Eight years in and we love sampling all the amazing beers we can in one slightly inebriated evening. That’s what babysitters are for right? Now I can’t decided whether I like my beer hoppy, grainy, wheaty, sweet, carbonated, flat, warm, cold, spiced, flavoured with Hawthorn fruit (WTF?) or roasted pumpkin. I find myself in beer heaven everytime we hit the beer and wine stores. If only British Columbia (that’s the province I live in) didn’t tax the heck out of all of it. That big bottle, labelled Jiahu? $25 CAD. (OMG!!!!) In the States? Anywhere from $8.99 to $22.00. Amazing what a little taxation can do.
So if you have recommendations on beers that I should try, please let me know. We are always looking for something new and interesting.
On to today’s lesson.
Emulsified. Say it with me now. E-mul-si-fied. Or from the dictionary: ih-muhl-suh-fahy.
I like that word. I also like the action that it is describing. Emulsified foods are heaven. Besides mayonnaise, there is dressings and marinades, sauces and gravies. All the good food is emulsified. But what does emulsified really mean?
Emulsified foods are: (From Dictionary.com) A suspension of tiny droplets of one liquid in a second liquid. By making an emulsion, one can mix two liquids that ordinarily do not mix well, such as oil and water.
Mayonnaise is a perfect example of emulsification and also a lesson in patience and perseverance. Making mayonnaise is not as easy as it looks. I will admit to you right now. Mine broke. Twice. But I made it work and it was damn good. So let’s get you making your own mayonnaise people!
How to Make Mayonnaise
Yield: 500 ml or 2 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking/Active Time: 20 minutes2 egg yolks (room temperature)
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt400 ml oil (more on this below)
juice of one lemon
1 tsp white vinegarDash of Worcestershire
pinch of cayenne
salt and pepper to tasteOptional:
1-2 tsp water
1 tsp sugar
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attached(or use a hand blender and a metal bowl or even a regular blender), mix together the first three ingredients on medium speed.
2. VERY very very slowly, add the HALF the oil in a fine drizzle. If you are unsure how slow to start, just start with drips. Seriously.
3. If your mayo breaks, stay with me. I will rescue you after the next steps.
4. Add the lemon juice and vinegar and continue to whisk.
5. Add the remaining oil.
6. Add the Worcestershire, cayenne and season to taste.
7. Refrigerate and use within one week. (Alton brown suggest keeping it at room temperature for 1-2 hours and then refrigerating, allowing the acids to do their antibacterial work.)Note: I used half avocado and half olive oil for my recipe as well as straight-from-the-chicken’s-butt egg yolks. So the colour is from that.
Choosing your oil:
Any oil you choose to use in this recipe IS the star ingredient, you WILL be tasting it in the finished product. So here are my recommendations:
- Macadamia nut oil – great for neutral flavour and heart healthy fats!
- Olive oil – full of health benefits, nutty flavour (can give mayo a green tinge)
- Avocado oil – full of health benefits, strong smoky flavour (mayo will be green), Olivado makes a fantastic (and organic) one!
- A combo of these three oils together would be a perfect flavour match.
If your mayonnaise breaks:
- Remove everything from the bowl, reserving the broken mayonnaise.
- Clean out the bowl and crack a new egg yolk into it.
- Slowly drizzle the broken mayonnaise into the new yolk. Continue until emulsified.
- If it breaks again, start at the first step.
Delicious food to use your Mayonnaise in or on:
Apple Fennel Slaw
Tartar Sauce for Salmon Burgers
Cauliflower and Potato Salad
Fish Tacos (it’s a great condiment on tacos!)
Prosciutto Sandwiches
Ah, the pleasures of fresh home-grown eggs in mayonnaise. I never thought of using Worcestershire sauce-that sounds really good.
I have a very fool-proof method of making mayonnaise- I’m not sure if it’s “kosher” to use the whites, but this has never failed to produce wonderful, velvety mayonnaise, and it never “breaks”:
1 fresh egg, chilled + 1 garlic clove + about a teaspoon of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon + a pinch of salt + dry mustard if desired. Blitz it with a food processor or immersion blender while adding oil in a thin stream until the desired thickness is achieved. I like to add basil and freshly-ground pepper.
Maybe today will bring chicken salad with mayonnaise….
Great pictures.. and great brews. Thanks Elizabeth!
I love making mayo. Haven’t in awhile. I usually do it with a neutral oil so it doesn’t get a heavy taste. I have made a garlic aioli and also homemade blender hollandaise, which is also an emulsification.
Looks beautiful and creamy! Thanks, Elizabeth!
Kay recently posted..Leek and Potato Soup
Educational and looks amazing! You’re right about the “slowly” part, I have this dressing that calls for E-M-U-L-S-I-F-C-A-T-I-O-N and it comes out so much better when the oil is poured slowly:)
Ethan recently posted..Nutella and Peanut Butter Filled Banana Vanilla Buttermilk French Toast
Egg yolks need to be at room temperature to emulsify correctly and stay emulsified. 1 hour on the countertop does the trick. If you use cold yolks and zap them with other ingredients, the mayo may separate later which is a p-r-o-b-l-e-m.
Mmm nothing beats homemade mayonnaise, not even Hellmans. This looks delicious!
LimeCake recently posted..Sole à la Meunière
I adore mayonnaise, your recipe looks wonderful and I should really try it!
Also, the green hue from the avocado oil is gorgeous!
Nadia recently posted..Shahi Tukray with Pumpkin- A Pakistani Bread Pudding and Eid Mubarak
Mayonnaise has been on my grow-a-pair list for months. Your instructions look pretty foolproof, so I might finally give it a shot!
I’ve surprised myself this past year by getting pretty into craft beers, too, and I’m delighting in the increase of good stouts and porters coming into availability as the days grow shorter. Why is it all the great things that come with winter also bring flab?
Kristina recently posted..The sci-fi spirit
I CAN.NOT believe that color!! And I can’t wait to have our own eggs!! I’ll have to try mayo in my mixer; I usually use the blender, but it’s going to die on me soon. Lol.
Aimee @ Simple Bites recently posted..A Simple Bites Holiday Menu recipe- Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Lovely color! I think it looks more flavorful because it’s yellow and not white. Great spice combination, too.
Liz recently posted..Grilled tomatoes with balsamic date sauce
yumm, this mayo looks lush! well done, I want to make it!
Jenny Nguyen recently posted..Sushi eating tips I learned from Mr Yasuda
Hmmm…this just might make my food allergic client very happy, although I’ll need to leave out the mustard. She can’t have soy, corn, or wheat, either so that pretty much eliminates all store brands!
WOW Marianne, I hope it helps!
Wonderful explanation for making mayonnaise!! Had to make this is school.. by hand. Thank goodness mine didn’t break – by that point my arm was so tired I don’t think I’d have had the energy to fix it!!
Homemade mayo is so much better – with “fresh from the butt” eggs it must be amazing!!
I am on the blood type diet and this totally helps me. I just had to omit the vinegar and Worcestershire. Made it yesterday with olive oil and a hand mixer and a lot of patience, and it has the most beauuuutiful colour. And smell. And taste. Thanks so much!
I feel I got very lucky, just made my first homemade mayonnaise and it was stupid easy. Took a clean jar that a stick blender could fit in, put the vinegar and salt in, swirled it around until the salt blended, added two whole medium eggs (room temp.) and about 1/4 cup oil. Blended it until it was all mixed together, then kept adding oil every so often, and not by drops, until the whole cup of oil was mixed in. Blended for another minute or two and viola, mayo. Easy squeezy.
Yes, stick blenders or high speed blenders are a much better way of making mayonnaise!
Hmmmm.. Nothing beats a homemade mayonnaise.
Rodrigo Pittman recently posted..El Camino Del Exito
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Local In Season, Elizabeth Nyland. Elizabeth Nyland said: NEW POST: Culinary Fundamentals: Mayonnaise. GK shows you how, from choosing oils to rescuing a broken emulsion. http://bit.ly/boWzFs […]
[…] store bought mayonnaise (If you have some time, try making your own some time. It’s amazing. Here’s a wonderful post on making your own by my friend and ridiculous cook/photographer Elizabeth over at Guilty Kitchen. […]
[…] Plus, the quality of farm fresh eggs just can’t be beat, and are a dream to work with, as my homemade mayonnaise demonstrates so […]