Home-made mayo the easy way
Katerina Pavlakis 
Go on, surprise yourself!
Evil stuff!
That's what I used to think about mayonnaise.
Growing up, mayo was not a 'thing' in our house, even though my granny served home-made mayo in a big sauce boat with her signature Sunday fish supper.
By the 90s the 'low fat' craze had caught on and caught up with me too, so my view on mayo turned from indifferent to evil.
Then, when I became interested in the evils of processed food, mayo got thrown under the bus again (I mean, have you ever looked at the ingredients on your jar of mayo from the shops?!)
Only more recently, with a better understanding of the huge importance of natural fats in good health, have I realised that mayonnaise really is just egg and oil, brought together through the magic process of emulsion. There is absolutely nothing evil about that. In fact, if I choose a good oil, it is positively healthy!
But 'good oil' mayonnaise is expensive, and making it at home seemed complicated.
I was once swayed by Samin Nosrat's enthusiasm to try making some by hand, but decided 'it doesn't work' - in hindsight I probably abandoned whisking far too soon. (I was inspired by her book but here's a quick video)
So I gave up on mayonnaise.
.
This week we had our first seasonal asparagus delivery in the shop, and we got talking about sauces... Turns out my colleague Lisa has been making easy mayo with a stick blender for ages!
So I tried this... and OMG!
I made perfect mayonnaise in about 30 seconds - just with with olive oil, egg yolk and mustard.
Still flabbergasted. And definitely making this again, and again!
The best thing about home-made mayo: you can play with the flavours.
Just imagine: wild garlic mayo, pesto mayo, miso mayo, lemon zest mayo... I see a lot of fun coming on!
And obviously, home made mayo doesn't need any industrial additives. It's plain good stuff.
If you haven't tried it yet, give it a go: it's so so worth it!
.
YOU NEED
1 egg yolk / 1 cup of oil / 1 tbsp of vinegar / pinch of salt / tbsp hot water
optional flavourings (mustard, herbs, a pinch of sugar, etc)
a stick blender
a tall jug or jar
.
HOW TO
It's important to use a tall jug/jar rather than a bowl so that the stick blender head is properly immersed in your ingredients, starting with the egg at the bottom. It is also important that all ingredients are at room temperature.
Add the egg yolk, vinegar, salt, and mustard to your jar, and mix in a tbsp of hot water.
Pour in the oil.
Immerse the stick blender all the way to the bottom and start blitzing. As the emusion comes together slowly move the blender head up so the oil gets mixed in bit by bit.
Taste and adjust, and add extra flavourings if you like.
.
NOTES
Opinions seem divided as to whether to add extra flavourings (eg. pesto) before or after bringing the mayo together (risk of splitting). I added mustard with the egg and it worked fine.
Apparently you can use a whole egg instead of just the egg yolk - I haven't tried this but I will!
And, while I haven't tried this either, this you can make egg-free mayonnaise with chickpea water (aqua faba).
Personally, I don't worry about eating raw eggs. I have been adding raw egg yolks to breakfast smoothies for years without any ill effects. But only you can decide that for yourself and your family.
.
