Homemade Condiments Part 1 - Mayonnaise

In my quest to remove processed foods from my home and to eat healthy, local foods I thought it was finally time to remove the bottles of condiments from my fridge; that is, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustard, relish, etc.. All of these products are easy to make at home and probably taste 100 times better than the store-bought version.

As I attempt to replicate these items I'll blog about my successes/failures and post the recipes that I use. The first one in my multi-part homemade condiment series today is mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise is something that I've always wanted to make. Who doesn't love mayonnaise? Mmmm....toasted tomato sandwich with mayo and cheese. Yum! I was a little fearful to attempt it though. When I was doing some research online I found so many different recipes and all of them were different. Many of the authors also had a lot of cautionary words about mayonnaise failures; eggy globs floating in oil and making several attempts before ending up with something edible. Yikes!

Here is the recipe that I ended up using:
1 egg (white and yolk)1 tsp dijon mustard1/2 tsp salt1/4 tsp ground pepperjuice of 1/2 lemon1 cup mild-flavoured oil (I used 1/2 cup canola and 1/2 cup olive oil)

In a food processor, place all the ingredients but only half the oil. Process until the mixture thickens. While the machine is running, pour the remaining oil slowly in a thin stream (using the feed tube of the food processor works well because it takes a while for the oil to run through the tiny holes). Adjust the seasoning and refrigerate in a closed container. Use within a week.

It worked! On my first try! And it only took 5 minutes to make (I swear!). Awesome!

Next time, however, I'd reduce the amount of salt. I thought it was a bit too salty.

The recipe I used was the only one I found that used the whole egg rather than just the egg yolk. The authors said that using the egg white would result in a lighter (whiter) mayonnaise.

Here are some other tips that I found in my research:

-use only fresh eggs - the fresher the egg, the better it will emulsify
-use a mild-flavored oil like peanut or safflower oil. Canola oil works well too. If using olive oil, don't use extra virgin
- for better results ensure that ingredients are at room temperature prior to processing
-apparently using a whisk will result in a lighter mayo, while food processors and stick blenders will make a stiffer mayo.
-some recipes suggest leaving the lemon and seasonings for last to prevent the egg and oil from separating

I'm glad I did my research before attempting this recipe; especially since it has raw egg in it. However, I was surprised by how easy this was to make. No more Hellman's here!

Regular Mayonnaise ingredients: canola oil, water, liquid whole egg, vinegar, salt, liquid yolk, sugar, spices, concentrated lemon juice and calcium disodium EDTA

Low-Fat Mayonnaise ingredients: water, canola oil, modified corn starch, liquid yolk, vinegar, sugar, salt, spices, xanthan gum, sorbic acid, phosphoric acid, colour, concentrated lemon juice, calcium disodium EDTA, citric acid and sulphites.

Notice how the low-fat version is full of crap? Yup..not surprised.

Stay tuned for my next homemade condiment!