Talk About an Awesome Recipe!
Have you noticed all the focus on getting more good fats into the diet? With this in mind, I thought it’s about time we deal with the 2-ton elephant in the room: mayonnaise (and its first cousin, aioli)! Face it—what’s a burger, sandwich, or potato salad without it? But the store-bought stuff is so full of chemicals, bad fat, preservatives, and other mystery ingredients, that seriously considering making your own is one of the most effective things you can do for diet improvement. Making your own mayonnaise and aioli is THE WAY to dealing with that 2-ton elephant!
Mayonnaise and aioli are basically the same thing: an emulsion (fancy word!) of oil, vinegar and egg yolks. Aioli is just a more specific version, using olive oil, lemon juice (as the “vinegar”) and adding garlic as a flavor. When homemade, both are pretty darn good as they are, but they really take well to additional herbs, spices, and flavorings. Be careful if you make flavored mayonnaise, though. You may just eat it straight with a spoon.
The recipe I found that I like the best is one from a great food website, www.tastespotting.com. And the authors admit that this recipe for basic mayonnaise that they tweaked and re-tweaked, is based on a whole slew of “recipes” they found all over the web. They also point out that their ideas for flavored mayos (aioli) are inspired by a section in Tyler Florence’s Eat This Book cookbook.
So if you’re ready to for an easy and delicious way to add more healthy fat into your diet, give this recipe a try—it’s absolutely awesome. What a great way to deal with that 2 ton elephant in the room!
Basic Homemade Mayonnaise and Aioli Variations
A tasty and healthy version of store-bought mayonnaise!
Yield: 1 CupIngredients:
| 4 | large egg yolks |
| 1 teaspoon | dry mustard |
| 1 1/2 cups | extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil |
| 2 tablespoons | lemon juice |
| 1/8 teaspoon | crushed salt sea salt is best |
| 1/8 teaspoon | freshly ground black pepper |
Directions:
Combine egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk. After they are blended, add the oil a few drops at a time, allowing the mixture to thicken and obtain a yellowish-white color. Then continue to add the balance of the oil slowly in a thin stream. If the mixture becomes too thick, add small amount of lemon juice to thin it out.Throw egg yolks and mustard into the bowl of a food processor. With the food processor running, very slowly pour a slow, steady stream of the vegetable oil into the egg yolks until the “mayo” forms. Add lemon juice and process just to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Makes about 2 cups of mayonnaise that will keep for about a week.
Variations on Basic Mayonnaise: Put about 1 cup of basic mayonnaise back in the food processor for each of the variations below:
Garlic Basil Mayonnaise:
Throw a bunch of washed and dried fresh basil and 2 cloves of chopped garlic into the food processor with the basic mayonnaise, then process until the basil is chopped. You could also just stir prepared basil pesto into mayonnaise.
Spicy Curry Mayonnaise:
Stir in about 1 teaspoon each of curry powder and sriracha hot sauce. Season with black pepper.
Lemon Caper Mayonnaise
Add grated zest and juice of 1 lemon and about 2 tablespoons capers into the food processor with the basic mayonnaise, then process until the capers are finely chopped.
And in conclusion, here’s a little mayonnaise history:
Although it’s known as Best Foods® in the west, it’s Hellmann’s® in the east. Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank.
The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5 and is known, of course, as…Sinko De Mayo.
- www.pinterest.com
- www.confetticouture.com
- www.creativeorchard.blogspot.com
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
