Mayonnaise is a healthy and tasty sauce when made at home. The key is fresh produce. The store-bought sauce is produced on an industrial scale using preservatives for long shelf life. But if you cook the sauce yourself, it turns out to be of better quality, although very little is stored. We analyze a step-by-step recipe on how to make homemade mayonnaise.
The origin of the sauce itself is unknown – presumably, it began to be made on the Mediterranean islands of Mallorca or Menorca, which today belong to Spain. The French name mayonnaise was assigned to the sauce, from the name of the city of Mahon on the island of Menorca, which was conquered by the French Duke of Richelieu in the 18th century.
Legend has it that during the British siege of the city, the French stocks dried up, and egg dishes got tired, and it was then that one of the cooks, on the orders of the duke, came up with a new sauce from already familiar ingredients. And Provencal mayonnaise, known to the Russian consumer, is actually not from France – this name was invented in the Soviet Union with imitation of a French product. In the GOST recipe, vinegar was used as the only preservative.
Before you start cooking, remove all food from the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature – in such conditions, the eggs will beat better, and the mustard will become more liquid. It is better to use olive oil in a ratio of 1: 2 to sunflower oil, otherwise the sauce will turn out to be too bitter. Also, the total amount of oil affects the thickness of the mayonnaise – if you want to make it less liquid, you can add more oil. And if it’s thicker – a little water.
Base Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2.5 teaspoons mustard
- 300 ml vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
How to make mayonnaise with a mixer
- Crack the egg carefully. When pouring the yolk from one half to the other, drain the protein into a separate container. Place the separated yolk in a bowl. Do the same with 2 more eggs.
- To the yolks, add 2.5 teaspoons of mustard, 1 teaspoon of salt and the same amount of sugar. Beat with a mixer at low speed until smooth.
- In the process of whipping, pour oil into the mass in a thin stream until the mayonnaise becomes thick enough.
- Add lemon juice and stir.
- Wait for the sauce to thicken and serve.
You can bake meringue or meringue from the remaining proteins.
To improve the taste, some cooks add crushed or dried garlic, pepper, paprika or herbs to mayonnaise: dill, parsley, cilantro, oregano, basil – depending on the dish. Ready-made mayonnaise can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, after which it begins to deteriorate.
How to make mayonnaise in a blender
The traditional mayonnaise recipe calls for separating the yolks and whites so that they are beaten separately for a more stringy texture. However, you can save time and prepare the sauce in a blender – you can beat whole eggs in it.
- Crack 3 eggs into a tall blender glass. Then add 2.5 tablespoons of mustard, 1 teaspoon of sugar and salt.
- Beat the mass with a blender in progressive movements until it becomes homogeneous and airy.
- While whisking, pour in 300 ml of vegetable oil (1.5 cups). Wait for the sauce to thicken.
- Add citric acid and beat again.
- You can manage!
How to make mayonnaise without mustard
If there was no mustard in the refrigerator, and you need homemade mayonnaise right now, you can do without it – and it will even turn out faster. In addition to the rest of the ingredients, you will need 9% table vinegar and a blender for cooking. To make the sauce more tender, you can use apple cider vinegar.
- Break 3 egg yolks into a narrow container suitable for a blender.
- Add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon vinegar.
- Beat with a blender for about 3 minutes until smooth, gradually pouring in 200 ml of vegetable oil.
- Wait for it to thicken and serve.
The big harm of mayonnaise is actually a myth: some chemical preservatives used in store-bought mayonnaise, or excessive consumption of fats contained in the ingredients, can pose a potential health threat. Although most of the composition of the sauce is vegetable fats that do not affect cholesterol levels (unlike animals). However, store-bought sauce is made with refined oils and pasteurized egg and milk powders, and thus the sauce loses its health benefits. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the vegan mayonnaise recipe.
How to make vegan mayonnaise at home
The vegan version of mayonnaise is made with aquafaba, the liquid leftover from canned or cooked legumes such as beans, peas, chickpeas, soybeans, or lentils. Aquabafa consists of vegetable proteins and carbohydrates and is similar in consistency to egg white, so it is used instead in vegan cooking. For cooking, you again need a blender. Aquafaba mayonnaise can be consumed not only by vegans but also by those who are fasting – or those who want to try something new.
- Instead of egg whites, pour 100 g of aquafaba into a tall glass.
- Add a teaspoon of sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of mustard, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Beat the mass with a blender for a minute, moving it up and down. The sauce should rise slightly and lighten.
- Continue whisking and gradually pour 200 grams of vegetable oil into the mass (you can use chickpea oil). The sauce should thicken.
What can be done?
Abandon the idea of baking mayonnaise in any form. Mayonnaise is a cold sauce and goes best with cold dishes. For classic “meat in French” bechamel is better. The recipe for this sauce can be found on our website.