Mayonnaise

This mayonnaise took me less time to make than it would to walk into a grocery store and find it on the shelf.  Plus I didn't have to buy a product that had soy or canola products and does not suffer from pasteurization which kills the enzymes in it.   Be sure you find a good source of PASTURE RAISED eggs.  Just because they are organic does not mean that they were "free-range."  At the supermarket, you'll start to see them more frequently in our area.  They run about $7 to as much as $9 a dozen.  If more of us buy them, the price will go down.  I got them as low as $5.99 at Whole Foods the other day.   They were from Vital Farms so not local but I felt good about buying them.  A lot of chickens will stop laying eggs around this time of year, so getting them at farmers markets will start to get more difficult. 

When using oil, I don't recommend doing it with olive oil entirely.  It'll be very strong in flavor, better to mix it with a lighter oil such as avocado oil.

Mayonnaise (from Nourishing Traditions with a few tweaks as I've come to make it over the last couple of years)

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

Sea salt, a generous pinch

Lemon juice from one half lemon

About a tsp. Dijon mustard

2/3 cup oil of choice.  I used half Extra Virgin Olive and avocado oil. 

Optional--1 Tbsp. whey which will extend the life of the mayo considerably--several months--as opposed to about 2 weeks if you leave it out.

 

In a food processor place egg, egg yolk, mustard, salt and lemon juice and optional whey.  Process until well blended about 30 sec.  VERY slowly, add the oil while the processor is going--a micro thin stream is what you are going for.  When all the oil is incorporated, check the taste--does it need more lemon? Salt? Mustard?  Add it in and blend for a bit more.  This whole process should not take more than 3-4 min. The mayo will be a little more liquid than you see at the market. If you put whey in it, let it sit at room temperature, well covered, for 7 hours before refrigerating.  If no whey, put it into a container in the fridge right away, it will set in a few hours.  It makes about a cup and a half, which we sometimes get through in 2 weeks, sometimes not. The batch pictured above turned out on the thicker side.  I used only 2 egg yolks and I have an emulsifier attachment on my mini-prep food processor.