The Secret to Homemade Mayo? Patience.
Neither the ingredients nor the technique for homemade mayo are unusual or difficult – but mixing up a batch does demand, at least for me, an extraordinary amount of patience. The payoff is worth it: light, silky, flavorful, healthy mayo you can use in salads or on top of grilled meat.
This recipe is from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook
The magic of mayo is that it’s an emulsion: the oil and egg+lemon juice create a colloid (hello, fifth grade science!). You don’t need to understand all the science, but there are a few things to keep in mind if you want to be successful. I’ve had many, many mayo FAILs*… here’s what I learned to make it just about perfect every time.
1. Your ingredients must all be at room temperature; the egg, oil, and lemon juice want to mingle in a cozy embrace. UPDATE (June 7, 2010): I just made a fresh batch and I cannot stress this whole “room temperature” thing enough. I let my egg and lemon juice sit on the counter top for about 4 hours before starting the blender process, and my mayo came out perfectly, dreamily creamy (see photo below).
2. Take your time. And then go slower than that.
3. Look at the expiration date on your eggs. Add about a week. Write that date on the lid of your storage container so you know when to toss your mayo (if it lasts that long).
4. Do not use expensive, fancy extra-virgin olive oil; the olive flavor is overpowering. I use the grocery store brand “light tasting” olive oil. It barely tastes like olives which is not so good for green salads, but is awesome for mayo. (You might try Filippo Berio or Bertoli.)
Homemade Olive Oil Mayo
Ingredients:
1 egg
2 tablespoons lemon juice @ room temp
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 1 cup olive oil (light, not extra virgin) @ room temp
Directions:
1. Place the egg and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Let them come to room temperature together, about 30-60 minutes. Add the dry mustard, salt, and 1/4 cup of the oil. Whirl until well mixed – about 20 to 30 seconds.
THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART!
2. The only remaining job is to incorporate the remaining 1 cup oil into the mixture. To do this, you must pour very slowly… the skinniest drizzle you can manage and still have movement in the oil. This takes about three minutes or so. Think about three minutes during a WOD; it’s a fairly long time. Breathe. Relax. Drizzle slowly.
If you’re using a blender, you’ll hear the pitch change as the liquid starts to form the emulsion. Eventually, the substance inside the blender will start to look like regular mayonnaise, only far more beautiful. Do not lose your nerve and consider dumping! Continue to drizzle.
If your ingredients were all at room temperature and you were patient, you will be rewarded!
What To Do If You Experience a Mayo FAIL
If something goes kafluey, the emulsion will “break” and you’ll be left with a jar filled with a quasi-emulsion with the consistency of, say, commercial salad dressing. DO NOT DESPAIR! It can be saved. Pour the liquid into a storage container and place it in the coldest part of your fridge. Wait a few hours (again, with the patience!), then stir vigorously. It will be slightly less thick and creamy than the full emulsion, but still delicious and useful for salads: egg salad, tuna salad, cucumber salad, etc. It will not, however, be spreadable – but we don’t care about that anyway because who among us is still eating sandwiches?!
True story: The mayo in my fridge right now is this “compromise” mayo, and I’ve eaten tuna salad made with it for three days running. At my parents last weekend, I made a batch that was PERFECT: fluffy, silky, spreadable (although we did not spread it anywhere). This stuff is amazingly delicious drizzled (fail) or dolloped (perfect) onto grilled meat.
Here’s the cucumber salad my mom taught me how to make: cucumbers, a splash of vinegar, homemade mayo, onions, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. (Find the recipe in Well Fed: Paleo Recipes For People Who Love To Eat.)
More recipes that include homemade mayo…
“You’re The Top” Tuna Salad
Firecracker Tuna Salad
Tropical Chopped Salad
Fiesta Tuna Salad
Deconstructed Gyros
Creamy Italian Dressing
Southwestern Cumin-Lime Dressing
I’m excited to once again join the punk rock foodies on Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.
245 Responses to “The Secret to Homemade Mayo? Patience.”
Post a comment
Like what you've read? Got something to say? Lay it on me!
I shall never again purchase a jar of mayo.
Good girl! Wait'll you try it!
The first time I made this it came out perfect. Since then, I have tried it TWICE, done things exactly the same, and failed each time
The only thing i can think of that was different was maybe the “room temp” was a cooler room temp than the first time?? I am stupified and disappointed and scared to try it again because I am spending a bloody fortune on the oil and premium pastured eggs (I am not one to keep around the runny stuff for tuna salad because I don’t like it..
Any thoughts would be most appreciated
)
It takes energy to make an emulsion, so wisk briskly when first adding oil to the egg yolk / mustard mix. You should form emulsion at this point, then continue to add oil, slowly with mixing as recommended. If you do not get the emulsion made when you start, continuing to add oil will not help, but will hinder, formation of the emulsion.
Win. My mom is doing her first Whole 30 and she wanted alternatives to hummus for dipping raw veggies. Just sent her a link to your post!
Awesome! If you use the mayo as a base, you can add herbs and spices to make dips… paleo Ranch! Just add lemon juice, parsley, paprika, chives, salt & pepper.
This changes my whole perspective on mayo!
THANK YOU!!!
Took a stab at making homemade mayo about 3 weeks ago and it turned out horribly! The consistency was right on but the taste was awful – very olivey. I used extra virgin – do you recommend light olive oil? I feel so scarred and am hesitant to try it again – when I say it tasted nasty I mean NASTY! Thanks for your posts – they are so inspiring!
Henderson… yes! Good point. It's WAY better to use the kind of cheap-ish, "light tasting" olive oil so the olive flavor is almost non-existent. Try it again and see if you like it. You can cut the batch in half if you scramble the egg, then just use half of it… and cut everything else in half. That way, you don't have to experiment with a whole bottle of oil.
I learned to make mayo from scratch while vacationing in France. Literally did it by hand with a fork. They often use Sunflower oil. Is that a paleo no no? I was thinking even Canola or Grape seed oil would do the trick as both are light tasting.
Yesterday I made my third (or fourth?) batch of lacto fermented mayo. I use the recipe from GNOWFGLINS site, but I alter it a bit. I don't like the mustard taste so I use lemon juice instead. I love love love it! Plus, it uses whey and fermenting (which doesn't affect the taste I find) so it lasts a long time in the fridge. Plus you get the health benefits of the fermentation. Yesterday when I wanted to make my mayo right away but only had fridge cold eggs, I cheated. I took my eggs and put them in warm water for a bit – then cracked them open to separate and they felt room temp!
Homemade mayo! I haven't made that for years! Mine never turned out well which is likely why I stopped making it. Will try yours! I invite you to link this up at my Vegetarian Foodie Fridays @ Breastfeeding Moms Unite! too.
Yum yum. I've been making mine with mostly refined coconut oil so that the lemon and mustard flavors really shine.
Kelsey
Damnit! I freaking had it on the very first go round and then got concerned that I was going to seize up so I dumped the last 1/4 cup of oil in one shot and jacked up the emulsion. In the fridge now to firm up before I make up some dino-tuna salad.
Dear Anonymous,
I'm sorry to hear that, and I can empathize… I had about a 50% success rate for a while.
For my last batch, it was looking really good, and I had a scant 1/4 cup of olive oil left to pour in — and I decided to just skip it. It turned out great. I think the oil can be reduced to 1 1/4 cups overall instead of 1 1/2. You might try that next time.
Hope the time in the fridge makes your almost-mayo behave. The flavor will still be good — try again!
Im a little confused… Your recipe says 1 1/4 cp oil total. Is the above post a typo or has the recipe changed since 2010?
Thank you
ojb
I made it and it came out awesome!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trixie –> HOORAY! I'm glad you had a great mayo experience. Don'tcha feel totally accomplished when you scoop it out of the blender and it's MAYO… that you MADE?! Love that!
Oh Mel,question..all week I have been making an awesome chicken salad with the mayo for lunch..but now kind of sick of it. What other lunch ideas could I use the mayo for?? Would love suggestions!
Hey, Trixie! I really like egg salad. I keep it simple: hard boiled eggs, homemade mayo, salt, and pepper.
Also, tuna with chopped olives and scallions.
I've also been known to just put a dollop of the mayo on a piece of hot grilled chicken or a hamburger patty… add a clove of chopped garlic, salt, and pepper… YUM.
Melissa,
I just ran across this recipe from the link you put in the whole9 comments. I've tried a lot of your stuff but hadn't run across the mayo yet. The first time I made homemade mayo I used the EVOO and as you mentioned, it was not very good. I can't wait to try your recipe.
One variation you may want to try is from Bobby Flay's cookbook, Boy Gets Grill. I've made it with great success with the store bought mayo and it should be even better with homemade mayo.
1 cup Mayo
1 roasted poblano, peeled and seeded.
2 Tbsp chopped onion
2 Cloves garlic
1 Tbsp light olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and Pepper to taste
Here is a link on how to roast a chile pepper.
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Cooking-Tips–Techniques-642/how-to-roast-fresh-chile-peppers.aspx
Put in blender until smooth. Wait one hour for the flavors to get cozy and dish over anything.
The honey is not whole30 approved but is still paleo in small amounts like this.
This stuff is so good you will be tempted to eat it with a spoon, trust me. It isn't spicy because the Poblano is mild but it is definitely smoky goodness.
Kevin
Kevin! Thank you for that recipe. I can't wait to try it. It's sounds SO good! I already want to eat my mayo with a spoon, so this could be very bad (and by that I mean very, very good) for me
Let me know how you like the mayo with the light olive oil. It makes a WORLD of difference.
Woo hoo!! I am so going to try this. I have been meaning to ask you about a Dino Chow version of Coleslaw dressing. One of my most favorite recipes ever is Whole Food's Sonoma Chicken Salad: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/526
I have been using the dressing for that to make broccoli slaw or coleslaw, but now that I am going Dino, I know its not in the plan, but I have been thinking 'there has to be a way to make it work. – I bet Melicious will know!' So this mayo is the mail part. I guess I can just cut down the honey, and give it a try. Let me know if you have any other suggestions, because it's a fabulous recipe.
Hey, Brandy! That recipe looks YUMMY! I think you're on the right track with reducing the honey. Other than that, it looks awesome. And really, 5 teaspoons of honey across 6 servings is less than 1 teaspoon per serving… which is about 4 grams of carbohydrate (sugar) per serving. Which puts it on par with beef jerky. If you're going to eat it every day, cut down on the honey. If it's once in a while, you can probably make it as-is.
Thanks for the perspective Mel. This must be where your 'Measure Everything' personality comes in very handy. Me, I am a little bit of this, and a little bit of that kind of girl, and so I miss out on stuff like this.
absolutely to die for. i tried the recipe from marks sisson's cookbook and it just wasn't right. your tips are dead on, thank you so much!
Stephanie
Stephanie… hooray! I'm glad it worked for you. Thanks for letting me know!
Hello! I just tried this recipe and it didn't come out as I had hoped so I was wondering if you could give some add'l suggestions.
I let the egg and lemon juice sit for at LEAST 4 hours on my kitchen counter. While that sat I had purposely gone out for the light olive oil for this recipe so that was room temp. I put all the ingredients in the blender up to the first 1/4 cup of oil and mixed it for 20-30 seconds. I then put the remaining cup of oil in the blender and *thought* I had been drizzling it out of the measuring cup I had used.
Here's where I think MAYBE something threw it off.
First my blender only has one mix speed and it's not very slow… not sure if that matters.
Then I *MIGHT* have been a little impatient because as the oil was drizzling in the blender all the contents are splattering out through the removable cap on the top of the lid. I still let it drizzle but maybe the drizzle wasn't slow ENOUGH?? (Just wondering if that splattering happens to anyone else or is it an indication that it wasn't thick enough or even the mixer speed?).
I was standing there for what felt like 3 min (reminding myself that the numbing in my arm was nothing in comparison to the 20 min AMRAP of ball slams, SDHP and burpees I did earlier in the AM).
It's definitely more liquidy looking than creamy… any suggestions??
Thanks (sorry this is so long)
Deana, beside having everything at room temperature, there is another very important part to successful mayonnaise preparation: the utensils have to be METICULOUSLY CLEAN!
I hope this helps – and good luck!
Deana, when reading your comment, I could have been my exact words…splattering and all. I just tried to make and so disappointed in how is turned out. I thought I followed the instructions to the tee but not sure what happened. My blender has 12 settings and I have no idea which one to use so that may have made a difference for me. I also turned it off in between the first 20 sec mix and adding the additional. I think I will try again tomorrow.
Hi, Deana21! I wish I had words of wisdom for you! I'm sad to say that my last batch didn't "take" and I have a creamy liquid, rather than thick mayo.
Things to try next time:
1. Definitely drizzle the oil painfully slowly. It should take about 5 minutes or so.
2. I think a faster blender or food processor works best. I'm going to experiment with mine again and see what I can come up with.
3. I read a recipe the other day that said if it's not thick enough, try blending the mayo liquid with an additional egg yolk — but same rules apply: room temperature and drizzle the liquid in very, VERY slowly.
Good luck! I hope you'll give it another shot, 'cause when it works, it's delicious!
Thank you Melissa! I think the ingredients splattering doesn't help. I just wanted to get it done .. but even with that I know I definitely took lots of time letting it drizzle, probably not 5 min worth- I'd say 2.5-3 min.
With your last batch, do you still use it that way or is it a waste? I just didn't find it too appetizing to look at so I didn't save the one I did
( Let me know if you experiment with the speed of the blender and how that works out. I was hoping that maybe if I went slower the splattering wouldn't be so bad- but it's not even an option on my blender (unless I use the chop mode).. LOL.
I will definitely give it another shot. Unfortunately I only bought a 16 oz bottle of oil. I have to wait until my next trip to the grocery store.
Thank you for following up! BTW, your blog is soooo inspiring! It's definitely helped me find my way through the lifestyle of Paleo eating. I'm a beginner so it's been a challenge but I'm trying hard!
Hey, Deana! When my mayo is liquidy, I put it in the coldest part of the fridge to let it firm up a little, then when I want to use it, I stir it really vigorously until it gets creamy. It still tastes DELICIOUS — it just looks more like salad dressing than mayo. And since my tuna salad is, well, a salad (and not a sandwich), it doesn't matter much that it's not thick. The tuna still tastes AWESOME. The thin mayo is also good drizzled over grilled meat (burger patties or chicken) and is great for dipping raw veggies if you add some herbs and garlic to it. Definitely keep it if it "breaks."
I'm glad you're finding my blog helpful. Congratulations on changing up your diet!
I absolutely cannot believe that I got this on the first try. I'm very much a "some of this" or "a handful of that" type of cooker. I had quite a hunt on my hand in my kitchen hunting for the measuring spoons and cups. Well, I found them! And the mayo turned out fantastically amazing the first time I tried it. Why on earth would anyone want that bottled crap when they can have this deliciousness in less than 10 minutes??
The only thing was I left out the mustard because I thought I had some but halfway thru I realized I didn't have any…but it turned out great anyway!!
Jennilee –> Congratulations! I've definitely improved my batting average lately… I think the egg works best if it's warm… which means letting it sit on the counter for hours. Glad you had success your first time!
And I have NO IDEA why anyone would eat the commercial junk when you can make your own creamy, heavenly bowl of mayo in under 10.
Howdy -
I made this last night with 1/2 teaspoon cumin added in – oh and I used a lime, had no lemon. It is super yummy! Thanks so much for the recipe!
That sounds super tasty — I've got to try that. You know I love cumin in EVERYTHING!
Absolutely perfect, Melissa. Thank you. PLUS, this stuff is easily 1,000 times better than store-bought stuff.
PrimalPainter –> I can't believe how long I resisted making my own mayo. Now I can't get enough of it! I look for excuses to eat it
Hi Melissa,
I am super excited to make this mayo, but I am wondering how long it will stay fresh in the fridge?
Thanks!
Hey, Nicole –> I usually use the expiration date on the eggs as a guide. I usually write the date the eggs expire on my mayo container and try to use it within a few days of that date… but honestly, a fresh batch doesn't last very long around here. I use it a lot!
I just made it, and it worked perfectly! It's delicious! Thank you
Just made this mayo and it came out bangin! Thanks!
I've been making this for months now, absolutely love it! As does the rest of my family it seems, hehehe. I double all the ingredients listed and each batch barely lasts more than a week!
Problem is, I've found that when I use the whole egg it ALWAYS turns out a bit too runny (even when I refrigerate it overnight and beat it again in the morning). But when I only use the yolks, it's soft, fluffy, creamy, and oh so absolutely wonderful! Have you ever tried using only the yolk?
Hey, Vitaly! I haven't tried a yolks-only recipe, but I know that some other recipes call only for yolks, not whole eggs. If it's working for you, stick with it! That's the best part of cooking: finding your own adaption of recipes.
Yummy! My first time at homeade mayo was a success! Thank YOU!
Thank you so much for posting this! I have tried making the recipe for Paleo mayo in the Primal Blueprint cookbook, and I keep getting a FAIL batch. Like you said, I could still use it for egg salad, etc, but it wasn't pretty! I kept re-reading the recipe in my cookbook thinking I was missing something. Turns out, they don't mention anything about room temp in their recipe. I am excited to try a batch at room temp and see how it turns out!
Heather –> Glad to help1 Definitely let all the ingredients warm up… and I don't know what the proportions are in the Primal Blueprint recipe, but if you're ALMOST done adding the oil, and the mayo is looking the way you want it, you can decide to not add all of the oil. Good luck!
OMG this mayo is amazing. I have just made it.It took me about 10+ mins to drizzle the oil olive in but it was worth it. I actually licked the spoon. I can see it is going to be a regular in my house. Big thanks to you!
Glad you like it! I make a new batch every week now… tuna and egg salad have never been so good!
Thank you so much for posting this. I just made my first batch and it turned out light, fluffy and delicious. The only thing is that I'm surprised by how strong the lemon flavor is. Have you tried experimenting with other acids, like vinegar?
Hey, Donny! I haven't experimented much because I really like the lemon flavor… however, you could replace the lemon juice with cider vinegar and the science should still work. If you try it, let me know what you think!
This recipe will for sure carry me through the Whole 30 challenge. Absolutely DELICIOUS! Thank you!! I'm going to make the creamy italian dressing for dipping my veggies in, too! Can't wait!
SnazzyGina –> I always thought I didn't like mayonnaise, until I made it myself and realized all the good things that can be done with it. It's great for dips and salads… also plopped on top of grilled meat, esp. if you use grassfed because it can lack the flavor of conventionally grown meat. Good luck on your Whole30!
OK…made it, it's AMAZING. I made a lemon curry dressing by simply adding 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon hot madras curry powder to 1.5 TBS of the mayo and it was like heaven on my spinach salad. YUM. I'm going to make the ranch version you posted for tonight's salad.
SnazzyGina –> Curry dressing sounds so good… with raisins and nuts and spinach and chicken and… YUM.
I have a couple of suggestions. I've been making mayo (and it's cousin aoli) for a while with great success. I usually use room temperature ingredients, but if I can't wait for the egg yolks to warm up I have just left them in the processor for a few minutes to blend with the acid and spices. I've found that as long as I am extremely slow with the oil until the mixture starts to gel, it will work fine.
I have also used both dry and prepared mustards (be sure and check the label for unhealthy items), and either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar for the acid (sometimes a mix of them).
Aoli is mayo with lots of garlic, basil and parsley – a very high yum factor.
For mayo fails – if a thick mayo is important you can add your failure slowly to a fresh batch of egg yolk and acid. Just make sure that you let the yolks process for at least a couple of minutes before remixing. Again – do it slowly – not as slow as the inital drizzling, but don't dump it all in at once.
Peter –
Thanks!
Your advice was RIGHT ON! My first batch failed so I did as you wrote and added the failure to a fresh batch of yolk & lemon….it came out great albeit a bit lemony – but I love that taste!
Thanks, Peter! Those are great tips.
Thanks again! I've just completed another winning recipe from you
I planned lots of PATIENCE and got the right consistency the first time. I had to sub 1/2 c of "full" EVOO rather than the light. It is a strong olive flavor but not too much so. I can't wait to play with the dips next. Thank you!
PS – You can also use your cooking/pouring WOD timing to focus on good posture for the whole 3+ min of drizzling. No lazy leaning on the counter or letting the arches fall in your feet
DauphineOT –> Congrats on making your first batch of mayo! Isn't it tasty?!
Thanks for the WOD idea! When I was making my weekly batch of mayo yesterday, I kept my core tight the whole time and held my oil drizzling arm way up high so my shoulders were engaged, too. Neat trick!
*sigh* complete and utter fail. Not sure what I did wrong. It was splattering everywhere the whole time – I'm wondering how others deal with that?
I was using the liquifying speed and adding the oil drop by drop with a syringe for the first half and then slowly poured afterwards – it took me 7 or 8 mintues to add all the oil in. The sound of the blender changed, it was looking good and then all of a sudden the emulsion broke. When I put it in the fridge it was very watery and separated looking. Not sure that it is salvagable. Everything was room temperature.
Well, my second time went slightly better. The first batch was not even salvedgable after refridgeration – it was oil with a few grains in it. This batch broke too, but I stopped the blender immediately. It was looking so good, I was adding so slowly and I had about 1/4 of a cup of oil left to add when the emulsion broke. Gah! It's in the fridge so we'll see how it looks in the morning. I was out of OO after the first attempt so used coconut and madacamia oil – should give it a good flavour. Next time I'm going with only 1 cup of oil and see how that does…
I make mine with one whole egg plus one yolk and extra virgin olive oil. I like the olive-y taste!
Another option is avocado oil.
A great trick to getting the oil to blend slowly is to use a food processor. They have the little thing on the top where you cram veggies down. It turns out that little thingy has a teeny hole in it that is perfect for emulsifying the shiz out of eggs and oil.
I’m really speechless at how delicious this mayo is! I was attracted to the idea of controlling the ingredients myself, but thought it would taste pretty much like Hellman’s. It is like a whole other food entirely! Wow.
Also, I ended up having to use my cake mixer because I think my blender is too strong. It was just flinging the ingredients up on the sides and nothing ever got blended. It maybe took a tiny bit longer. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Kylie –> That’s a great tip about the food processor. I’ve been experimenting with mine. I think I still prefer my blender because it makes a thicker mayo, but if I know I’m just going to turn it into salad dressing anyway, I use the food processor ’cause it’s easier to clean and it’s really easy to use the tube part of the lid for the oil drizzling process. Thanks for commenting!
Molly –> It’s amazing, isn’t it?! I know just what you mean. I never really liked mayo — just tolerated it in tuna salad. And now I want to put it on everything. And the bonus that it’s good for me, too?! HOLY SCHMOLEY!
I’ve had so many failed mayos, then I decided to change one simple thing that you recommended; room temperature. Sure enough, it’s the best mayonnaise I’ve made yet. Thanks!
Nat –> It’s amazing how much that one little change helps. Congrats on successful mayo. It’s SO yummy! I realized the other day I like mine extra lemony, so I’ve been making the tablespoons of lemon juice “generous.” HEAVENLY!
Happy eating!
just a question, is it ok to eat a raw egg? i am afraid to feed this to my family!
I’ve been making this with raw eggs from the beginning with no problems — but that’s a personal choice.
I did a quick internet search…
Cook’s Illustrated says this:
“If you have concerns about consuming raw eggs, 1/4 cup of an egg substitute can be used in place of the egg.”
And I found a cooked egg recipe, but it includes flour (http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/05/julia-child-cooked-egg-mayonnaise-recipe.html).
So it looks like those are your options. Let me know if you try the egg substitute or the cooked egg recipe — I’m curious about how they taste!
I used raw egg, and for the first time in my 65 years of cooking, my husband and I both had food poisoning!!!!!!! It was the ONLY thing we both ate that had not caused a problem in the recent past. Horrible, horrible, horrible. So now I am purchasing pasteurized eggs at a local health food store. Nice to know about using egg substitute though.
To control the spattering, I remove the little cup from the blender lid, and insert a funnel and drizzle the oil into the funnel. The funnel end measures about 1/2 inch in diameter. It really makes a difference.
you are so lying!
Easy. Lemon-y. Delicious.
Thanks for the amazing recipe that is now going to be a staple in our home!
The touch of lemon is really nice. Extra zing! Glad to be part of your foodie staples!
Hi Mel,
I miss my mayo
I made your mayo last month and it came out perfectly. I used the magic bullet. The entire time I was making the mayo I was scared it wouldn’t work b/c it wasn’t a steady mix. I added 1/8 cup of olive oil at a time then putting the lid back on, flipped it over and put it on the mixer. I thought all that chaos might interfere w/ the mixing process but it didn’t. It came out perfectly.
This time around it hasn’t been good. My lemon, olive oil and egg have all been room temp. The only thing I can think of that’s different is the olive oil. I bought the store brand of pure olive oil this time. I can’t remember what I got last time but I do know it wasn’t extra virgin.
My egg and lemon are sitting out now and I’m going to run to the store to get the light tasting olive oil; hopefully this works. On each of the failed attempts the consistence changed when I had less than 1/2 cup left of the olive oil. Up until that point it was beautiful.
I’ve re-tried 4 times
I wish I had some science for you… I really don’t. Are you using the same brand of lemon juice? The original recipe I based mine on recommended bottled juice to ensure the acidity doesn’t waiver.
I have varying results, too. Some days, it comes out very thick and others, it’s more like creamy salad dressing. I don’t know why, honestly. If it doesn’t “break,” you can salvage it in the fridge. If it gets really “curdled” you probably have to start over.
I’ll do some research and see if I can get us more science.
Perhaps it could be the varying size of the eggs that makes the difference. I buy the large organic eggs from Costco, but they seem to be extra-large.
The other variable could be whether one uses a liquid measuring cup or a dry measuring cup. Often, in using the dry cup for liquids, people tend to over-measure.
I’ll keep this in mind when I try my first batch. Gotta get my hubby off the store-bought stuff. -diana
it failed again. even with the light tasting olive oil. i’m going to try and find the brand that i used the first time i made it. and i’m thinking of using my food processor instead of the Magic Bullet- maybe it’s too strong.
wish me luck
DARN IT!
Here’s some stuff I found that might be helpful:
1. Reasons mayo breaks & ideas for how you might fix it.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2313513_fix-broken-homemade-mayonnaise.html
2. You can try using 2 egg yolks instead of 1 whole egg. Plus… “If the mayo breaks, try adding a few drops of boiling water and then whisk vigoriously by hand. If that doesn’t work, separate another egg and put the yolk in another bowl. Whisk it like you did the initial egg yolks and then slowly work the broken mayo into the yolk. Add a bit more oil to get it to the right consistency.”
3. You can also try reducing the amount of oil. Instead of 1 1/4 cups total, use only 1 cup. Put 1/4 cup in the blender or food processor with the egg and seasonings, then add just 3/4 of a cup with the motor running.
Hope these help! Keep me posted. I will not rest ’til you have happy mayo.
Good morning Mel.
I made my mayo this morning only using 3/4 cup of olive oil. The past 5 attemps it broke down during the last 1/2 cup. It taste superb and looks beautiful.
next time i make it i’ll try to find the olive oil i used the first time i made it using the entire amount of olive oil.
Keep on rockin sista
Whew! I’m so glad it worked! Enjoy!
I made this mayo tonight. I’ve used a couple of different recipes and I think this one was the creamiest. I didn’t wait for the eggs or lemon juice (fresh squeezed) to be at room temp and it turned out beautiful! I did think it was a bit salty so I’m going to cut that down next time. I have been very successful at my mayo making. I do think I have a secret weapon though. My Grandmother used to make her own mayo, so I always imagine her looking over my shoulder while I’m busy blending in the oil and imagine her smiling down on me because I’m taking the time to make homemade mayo. Silly, but it always makes me feel close to her!
Renee, thanks so much for posting your comment… what a great story! Now when I make mayo, I’ll be thinking of you and your grandmother. How sweet.
Awesome, awesome recipe! I’m so excited to have stumbled upon it. Couldn’t find any virgin/lite OO in the store so I went with EVOO but I don’t mind the taste. Only thing I would cut back on a bit would be the salt but otherwise DELICIOUS!
I attempted this yesterday, yes everything was room temp! Must be not enough patience adding oil…..I will try again after I eat the runny stuff. On a YUMMIE note….I did make a wonderful Coconut Crusted Grouper with Mango Salsa! That was AMAZING! With a few deletions and a few additions it was a truly wonderful paleo dinner. (I was finally brave enough to go through the crossfit fundamentals last night…..was not as horrible as I thought it would be. But my body is SORE! Especially after training legs in morning followed by 40 minutes of cardio. Can’t wait to do some more crossfitting!!)
The “runny stuff” works great for salad dressing — and works well with tuna and shrimp and hard-boiled eggs if you’re not worried about putting it between slices of bread.
Congrats on starting CrossFit!!!
Trying this today Mel, thanks!
Thanks for the tip on what kind of oil to use – I’ve been able to get a good emulsion going producing a great texture, but have been disappointed with the flavor – have been using extra virgin olive oil which has been sourced from the farmers by my Italian in-laws – obviously a delicious oil, but just not right for mayo!!
The mild-tasting oil makes a HUGE difference. Let me know how you like it!
I just made my gazillionth batch of this over the weekend. I have to make a double batch each time since my family motors through it at light speed. Our favorite way to enjoy this is on top of freshly baked butternut squash. YUM!!!
YAY! I make it weekly now, too. Had some yesterday on top of a GIANT grilled hamburger with banana pepper rings and paprika. RIDICULOUSLY good.
Mel, thank you so much for this help. I’ve tried to make this before and it was runny/gross. I just made my 2nd batch this morning and it’s delicious! Thanks from Long Beach, CA!
Hey, Ginac! Glad to know it worked for you… and I’m super envious you’re in Long Beach! Have a great weekend!
[...] thought I’d post a picture of the mayo we made too, turned out great except I ran out of light olive oil and so used about a half cup of [...]
[...] Notes: Homemade mayonnaise is surprisingly easy to make and bumps up the flavor of this dish. I learned to make mayonnaise from Melissa Joulwan. She promised me it would be easy and she was right! Don’t accept the soybean oil, sugar, and preservatives of store-bought mayonnaise anymore. Make some yourself. I’ll walk you through it below or you can click here and let Melissa walk you through it. [...]
Your mayo makes me so happy! I started my Whole30 yesterday and made my first attempt at the mayo, and while not exactly the right consistency, it tastes delish. We ate it last night on a salad (also made an attempt at your creamy Italian) and then tonight (mixed with a little balsamic vinegar) over cabbage slaw mix. Makes my day better, and trying to find tasty foods easier!
Congratulations on starting the Whole30. Wishing you a smooth-sailing month. Let me know if you have any questions or need to complain
[...] followed the excellent instructions given by Melissa @ The Clothes Make the [...]
Hi Melissa, I love your site!! I made your mayo the other day and it turned out PERFECT!! Thank you for sharing! I posted all about it on my site. Check it out if you get a chance! http://coastalcavegirl.com/2011/07/01/recipe-perfect-paleo-mayo/
~Jan
Thanks for the site love! And thank you for the shout-out on your blog. Today, I mixed onion salt into a little mayo to use as a dipping sauce for grilled chicken, raw veg, and a hard-boiled egg. YUM.
Hi Mel,
This worked beautifully on the first try. To speed up the room temp thing, I put the egg, 1/4c oil, lemon juice and seasoning in the blender and let them sit for about 30-40 min. This allows them to reach the same temp much more quickly than if the egg is in the shell and the lemon whole. I used a blender and at about 2:30 of drizzling the pitch changed just as you said it would (perfect!). From that point on the rest of the oil I added didn’t seem to do much, so I think I would have done fine with 1c oil. Maybe my egg was small though.
We started W30 on the 6/28. If we make it it will be because of you and your recipes. We’ll be busting out a few of your salads over the holiday.
Cheers!
Congrats on your mayo success! It feels triumphant, doesn’t it? Good advice on putting the ingredients in the blender to warm up — that’s how I do mine now, too.
Best wishes for an excellent Whole30 experience! I’m here with ya!
Is it possible to go too slow?? I tried making it tonight, and I think it will be ok, its in the fridge at the moment, but I ended up only being able to add a total of maybe 1 cup of oil before the mayo got thick and the oil started sitting at the top for briefish moments before getting down far enough to blend again. (and it kept blending with a big Whoop that splashed everywhere.. I think it was just too thick to blend anymore, and the mayo was starting to get really hot too and I was scared it would just stop blending altogether and I’d end up with a big blog of oil on the top). I ended up stopping because I didn’t want the whole batch to bust.
I am using a really large free range chicken egg from my neighbour’s house so the yolks are huge and the egg’s really fresh.. maybe it just takes less oil then?? Do you find it takes different amounts of oil depending on whether you use extra virgin or the light tasting??
Anyways, I’m using some of it on my buffalo chicken salad tonight and it really is delicious! It will be interesting to try it with the light olive oil when I get a chance to get into town to buy some! Thanks for all the fab recipes!! I made those coconut almond beans last night and thought I’d died and gone to heaven… my sister made them tonight and she says she’s definitely going to try more of your recipes too!
Katie, did you add the 1/4 cup oil to the blender with the lemon juice and egg first? Then drizzle in the 1 cup oil? If not, no biggie, but that might explain the difficulty in incorporating the last bit of oil.
However, if your method worked for you, go with it. You don’t need to squeeze in every last drop of oil.
The flavor of the oil — extra-virgin vs. light-tasting — doesn’t effect the ability to make the emulsion, but the size of the egg, the acidity in the lemon juice, etc. can effect it. It’s art AND science, so it’s subject to the whims of the muse
I’m glad you it was a good addition to your chicken salad. The flavor is much milder and more lemony with the light-tasting oil… let me know what you think of it.
Those green beans are a wonder, right?! Love the way all the flavors melt together. Happy eating!
Hey Mel,
Yeah I did start with the 1/4 cup at the beginning with the other ingredients. I think it must just be the big egg, it seems like that is the most likely reason in my mind. I also used fresh lemon juice rather than the jarred. The mayo looks good this morning, nice and thick. Its actually really yellow because the yolks in the egg was so big (I’m assuming). It will be interesting to see if its a little more “mayo colored” with the light tasting oil though.
I was referred here by Whole30, and I’m irrationally excited about how well this turned out. Whole new horizons have opened for our diet with the addition of a creamy, delish condiment!!
Rachel, it’s amazing, isn’t it?! When I figured out how easy it is to make homemade, it brought a whole bunch of recipes back into my life. YUM!
Just made Melicious mayo the other day. At first I thought that it turned out a little thin, but I put it in the fridge and it’s totally fine, beautiful. Not as thick as Hellman’s, but I’m not sure it is supposed to be.
So, today I found this page again so I could see what Mel said to put in the mayo to make Ranch dip. I used what she called for, but substituted scallions for chives since I didn’t have any. It is totally delicious! Lemon juice, fresh parsley, scallions, paprika, s & p. And the best part? It tastes JUST like ranch dressing!!?!?!? Who knew?
thanks!!
I’m so glad to know the ranch dressing works. Thanks for posting! And happy eating!
I recently found out I’m egg-intolerant (bummer as I have seven lovely chickens in my backyard). Do you know of any whole-food egg substitutes? Thanks~
I’m really sorry! I did a bunch of searching on eggless mayo to see if I could adapt a recipe for you, but all of them include garbage ingredients like soy milk, xantham gum, and agave nectar. I’ll keep researching and see if I can come up with anything.
Is egg substitute like egg beaters out for you, too?
Well, Egg Beaters say they’re “made from real eggs”, so, out. I’m not even allowed to put an eggshell in my water kefir (per my lovely new Naturopath). Flax and/or chia seeds ground up and added to water are an acceptable substitute in http://nourishedkitchen.com/coconut-flour-bread/ but don’t know how it would go in mayo. Maybe I’ll experiment. thanks!
From what I know from a friend, chia seeds might work. If you try it, will you let me know? I’m really curious now. And I’m sorry to hear about your egg dilemma. That’s a drag and a half!
I can’t eat raw cruciferous veggies ’cause of my thyroid, and it makes me want to stomp my feet, pout, and yell, “It’s not fair!”
Harumph.
I did it! It worked! And, since I wasn’t fighting a delicate emulsion, I could dump it all in and blend. The color isn’t lily-white because of the seeds, and the texture isn’t as smooth, but the taste is spot-on. Now I’m off to try some variations!
Thanks so much for the chia tip, as I’m allergic to eggs!!!
At least my kids get our chicken’s eggs…
[...] of tomato 1 roasted chicken leg quarter, shredded 1/3 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped 1/4 cup mayo (make it yourself, it’s worth it!) A few sprinkles of italian seasoning and garlic powder [...]
[...] of tomato 1 roasted chicken leg quarter, shredded 1/3 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped 1/4 cup mayo (make it yourself, it’s worth it!) A few sprinkles of italian seasoning and garlic [...]
Hmmm….so I’ve made 4 batches now, and I’m 2 for 2 regarding them coming out perfectly. I’ve been making it in a blender (messy, but sooo delicious it’s worth it) and I’m wondering if blender speed has anyx to do with it coming out right. For some reason, I don’t seem to be able to remember what the speed was the first time I made it when it was ABSOLUTE fluffy perfection =)
Cate, I make mine on the low speed of my 2-speed blender. And for what it’s worth, I still get a ‘fail’ every once in a while. It seems absolutely crucial that the egg and the lemon juice are at the same temperature so they can become friends. I’ll keep investigating and sharing what I learn.
I followed your recipe but not all of your advice. D’oh! Now I know why you say not to use the extra virgin olive oil. I was just so anxious to try this recipe. It was the perfect consistency but the EVOO flavor was way over powering! I will not make that mistake again. Ever. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve made this now about 10x and it’s amazing. Sometimes i do a double batch and it still comes out wonderful. The other day I didn’t have any dry mustard, so I used a spoonful of dijon mustard. SO GOOD!! It gave the mayo a very distinct almost spice flavor. My husband and I slathered it onto some baked butternut squash. Melt in your mouth goodness. This is by far one of the only things that saves me on paleo diet. MAYO!!!!
Nice mustard mod! Once you’ve nailed the technique, you can really play around with it. Flavored vinegar in place of lemon juice is fun, too.
[...] I definitely want to make mayo this weekend. His recipe is similar to Melissa’s at The Clothes Make the Girl. Hers has great tips on making it come out right, so I’ll most likely be on her page for [...]
[...] – the last of the roasted chicken with homemade mayo from Melissa’s recipes, mustard and [...]
Thank you so much! My fiance is doing Whole30 and I’d been looking for a mayo recipe to use when I need to whip up a quick tuna salad meal. I am quite excited that it came out perfectly my first attempt =D The whole drizzling of the oil had me scared, I’ll admit, but my worries apparently weren’t needed. Definitely going to be trying some more of your recipes!
Congratulations, mayo maker! I’m sorry my instructions freaked you out. I made them overly dramatic so readers would take me seriously about going slowly. But it’s really not so bad, right?
It wasn’t bad at all! Now to pass on the recipe to my mother-in-law who started Whole30 today and is going absolutely crazy without mayo =P
First try ever making mayo. Followed your recipe & directions EXACTLY. It was perfect & delcious. You rock!
I realize this thread is old, but I thought I would mention this little mayofail trick I learned. If your mayo breaks you can start with a new yolk and slowly add the broken mayo. It should whip up just fine like that.
I use reserved bacon fat, cooled to room temp but not solid yet. Heck, I even buy scrap bacon on discount from a local meat packer just to render the delicious, salty, smoky fat. There is nothing better in the world for making tuna salad lettuce wraps. Nom.
Thanks to you, I FINALLY made homemade mayo that actually looks, tastes and feels like mayo….not some sad, horribly olive-oily tasting thing. As always, you rock.
I literally just danced in front of my blender as the last few drops of oil went in… It is perfectly creamy and delicious! Tuna will never be the same. Thanks!
OMG!! I cannot believe how wonderful that mayo is! I am the WORST in the kitchen so if I can do it, anyone can do it. I am so excited to be able to use it to makes dips for my boys (1,4,6) to get them to eat more veggies. No longer do I have the settle for store bought garbage. Thank you, thank you! I laughed at hte above poster who said she “danced.” I felt like dancing too!
YAY! Glad it worked for you. It’s pretty awesomely fun, isn’t it?! Maybe I should call it “shake your fanny” mayo, ’cause i’ve been known to do a little happy mayo dance, too.
Two attempts at the homemade mayo – first attempt was close and was able to make the creamy italian dressing from it and that was great. Didn’t like it for my egg salad but I think it’s the olive oil I used. It’s imported instead of pure – states that it’s refined olive oil and EVOO – too olivey for me. Second attempt – total fail and doesn’t appear to be salvageable but maybe I’ll try to add it to an egg yolk to see if it can be saved. My question – have you tried it with an immersion blender? I saw this on youtube and it comes together wonderfully easy – no drizzling. However, he uses mostly canola oil and includes white wine vinegar and some sugar – all nonWhole30 ingredients – do those things make a difference? I’d like to try the immersion blender as it looks foolproof – but am afraid to try and fail. Let me know if you’ve tried this technique and if so, why not go that route? Thanks.
Terri, I don’t have an immersion blender, so I’ve never tried it. I suspect it will work great, and the recipe above should be fine.
Do not use canola oil! It’s garbage. Find a very light-tasting olive oil you like, or use macadamia (very expensive) or possibly avocado. You can swap vinegar for lemon juice and just leave out the sugar.
The texture and emulsion are affected by temperature and acid in the vinegar/lemon juice — flavorings like spices or sugar don’t affect the ability to “make it mayo.”
Hope that makes sense. Good luck!
SUCCESS!! The immersion blender did the trick and my mayonnaise looks like mayonnaise. I’m not convinced that I like the taste. I used light olive oil and it still is strong on the olive – but it might be better after it’s chilled. At least I have something to work with now. Thanks for your response.
[...] cup homemade mayo (here‘s a good [...]
Thanks so much for this amazing and easy recipe! I made some for our Whole30, convinced I would fail, and it came out GREAT. I used grapeseed oil (which I *think* was Whole30 approved) and it came out rockin’.
I ate it on everything
I am *so* looking forward to your cookbook!
Congrats on your mayo success! And I feel ya: I’m tempted to put a little dollop of mayo on just about everything. So silky-good!
[...] me to make my first batch of mayonnaise and I will be forever grateful that she did. Click here to visit her [...]
So I just made my first batch….TOTAL SUCCESS!!!! I had to “tell” someone, so I’ll spare my BF and tell ppl who can understand the excitement! hahah
Right ON! Congratulations! Strut accordingly.
Oh my. Oh my oh my oh my!
First ever attempt. #winning
Did this while keeping an eye on the Stovetop (beef) Carnitas, on the baby monitor, towards the tv room in case Sister took a movie break and wandered into the kitchen AND the clock since Big Brother was due home from JK any minute.
Can I just say oh my?
Haven’t had mayo in forever and your recipe has rewarded that patience. It is super duper thick too. Had to use the processor since it was way too splatty in the blender. Turns out, quite splatty in the processor too but I can live with cleaning up oil for mayo that tastes like this does.
BTW, used apple cider vinegar since I’d literally just used up the last of the lemon juice for the Carnitas.
(yes, it appears I’m on a mission to post on all the recipes I make from your genius brain. Hope that’s coolio)
Congratulations on mayo success! I love that you’re enjoying my recipes – and it is very cool of you to let me know.
I’m eating leftover jicama “potato” salad (recipe in Well Fed), and it’s got homemade mayo in it. Luscious!
Mel, how neat that you posted on Mayo. I have been making Mayo for the last 36 years. My friends all think I am nuts..ah ha, I use fresh eggs from local Amish or neighboring hen houses. My hubby loves when I mix in a little homemade Pesto. I separate portions to mix in different combinations.
I make mine in my food processor.
I can’t believe I waited to long to try making homemade mayo. Unbelievable easy once you know the room temp trick — and SO much better than store bought. Love the idea of separately flavored batches… genius!
[...] You can use store bought mayo but none of them are 100% Paleo – they all have some bad ingredient. Read the label & find the least offensive but remember this won’t be Whole 30 approved. If you want Whole 30, 100% PALEO make your own mayo. Good Recipe for making Paleo Mayo. [...]
Melanie, I found this recipe for mayo looking for gf cookie recipes! The exciting thing is I have resisted buying mayo because I want every brand I saw in the store yesterday had soy bean oil and I want to avoid soy for hormone reasons. I am definitely trying this recipe as soon as I can get the lemon juice. I might try it with safflower oil instead of light olive oil. Thanks for posting it.
Glad you found the recipe here! It’s really tasty.
One suggestion: I recommend against safflower oil. Because it’s a seed oil, it must undergo a lot of processing to become edible. It’s high in Omega-6 fatty acids… not so great for overall health and minimizing inflammation.
If you don’t want to use olive oil, try macadamia or avocado oils. And if you want, you can swap vinegar (cider or wine) for the lemon juice.
Good luck with it!
I didn’t really like the mayo made with light olive oil so I’ve used a combination of walnut oil and light olive oil – 1/3 walnut, 2/3 olive oil and I like the taste much better.
Thanks so much for this recipe Melissa! I was a little worried about being an absolute mayo failure given all the warnings in the description but I made it work! So proud, lol.
Tastes great, too. Definitely see what you’re talking about with respect to not using Extra Virgin…it’s quite the taste. Will have to buy something other than the massive Costco bottle for these purposes!
@Dare, My first batch today was with EVOO – very strong flavor. However, with some tweaking it did make a fabulous salad dressing. The second batch ever, (also today) was made with Light OO. Much better!
Just made this and I LOVE it. Super easy (just like making lotion actually). The tangy taste is awesome – thank you for posting and sharing. Gonna get your book too – glad I stumbled upon your site.
I’m glad you found me, too! Hope you enjoy Well Fed.
I laughed, I danced, I pumped my fist into the air…Yaba Daba Doo – I made mayo!!!
Funny story, my first attempt was a total flop; a watery mess. Was it my crappy blender that overheated and stopped twice? Did I pour too fast? Were the kitchen gods angry at me for burning my grass-fed meatballs last week? Nope, the next morning I found the egg I’d taken out in the veggie basket on the counter. In my rush to make mayo, I’d absent-mindedly grabbed a fresh egg from the fridge! Mystery solved.
This batch…perfection! Thanks for the recipe Mel. It, and you, are the BEST!
Oh, Dheana. I love this story! So glad the second batch worked.
I perfected my technique this summer while writing Well Fed and will update this post eventually with even better instructions. I’m so glad that the room temp trick is working for everyone.
[...] 1/3 homemade mayo [...]
Love this mayo. Here are the changes I’ve made after several batches: I use an immersion blender, I use vinegar instead of lemon juice, I only use 1 cup oil total, and my oil is a mix of 2/3 c. “light tasting” olive oil and 1/3 c. rendered lard, melted and cooled. I really like using the lard because it cuts the olive taste a bit and also helps the mayo be thicker when chilled but not too thick (like it was the time I tried using coconut oil).
[...] It worked perfect the first time for me. Just make sure your ingredients are room temperature! homemade mayo Chicken [...]
I am sure this problem has already occurred with someone else, but I made the mayo (I used extra vigin… should have taken you light advice! Extra virgin is so icky!) and it was more runny that fluffy. And idea what I am doing wrong?
The foolproof way to make the mayo is to use an immersion/stick blender(mentioned above) and room temperature egg. Works perfect everytime and no patience required. I use 2/3 cup light olive oil and 1/3 cup walnut oil; also use apple cider vinegar instead of lemon. I’ve tried several variations and methods and this is the one that works best for me.
I am excited about trying the mayo, but leery about eating raw egg. Am I wrong to be concerned?
After my first batch, using raw egg from the health food store, my DH and I both had horrible food poisoning. I am now buying pasteurized eggs, but tend to think I’ll try it with egg substitute. It’s not easy finding pasteurized eggs and I like the idea of being able to make the mayo even if I can’t find them.
BTW, I’ve been cooking for 65 years, and this is the FIRST time we’ve had food poisoning from my cooking. And we were able to pin it down to the mayo — it’s the only thing we both ate that we had not eaten in the previous few days without getting sick. And that raw egg was from a health food store!!!!!
I’ve never had any problem with the raw egg. If you’re concerned, you can swap in egg substitute instead. Good luck!
Thanks, Mel. I’m giving it a shot!!
Hi Mel — I have been scouring the interwebs looking for a good mayo recipe since I really want to make some deviled eggs on this Whole30 and the grocery store is hopeless. I took a little bit from your site, and a little bit from some others, and have been rewarded with fresh mayo. What a revelation! Thanks for the info about having the ingredients at room temperature; that wasn’t a variable I had considered.
For an alternate technique, in case you’re interested … I ended up using the mayo recipe from Serious Eats (link below). Their stick blender technique worked like magic, and didn’t require the careful pouring of oil. If you have a stick blender and want to give it a try, just make sure that the container you use is barely wider than the blender. I used a mug with hardly any clearance around the head of the blender, and it worked great.
They also have the science-y bits behind why using extra virgin olive oil makes for such bitter mayo.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/10/the-food-lab-homemade-mayo-in-2-minutes-or-le.html
(I subbed French’s yellow mustard for the Dijon in their recipe and used light olive oil instead of canola so it would be Whole30 friendly — I was out of dry mustard and my grocery doesn’t have any, so time to hit the internet!)
[...] quiche’s for tomorrow’s breakfast (which I’ll post tomorrow) and another round of homemade mayo and chicken salad. My husband said his favorites from the week have been the chicken salad and the [...]
Hey, Mel! I did it. Turned out beautifully creamy and it’s delicious. Have a picture for you! Thanks.
Rad –> Thanks so much for sending the photo. LOVE IT! So fun. Happy eating!
Does the thrill of success ever subside making your own mayo? I feel like a culinary QUEEN! I made a double batch today and drizzled for…ready for it? 15 minutes! LOL Yup, it was worth every second too. Turned out like a dream!
Nope! Just tonight I made a batch, and I strutted around the kitchen like a beauty pageant queen who just got her tiara. Nice work on the double batch!
[...] miracle whip?” Actually, he also said “Too bad you can’t taste a picture!” Here’s the kick-ass recipe from Mel at theclothesmakethegirl.com. The key to success with homemade mayo: everything has to [...]
Not sure if this was mentioned, I didn’t read each and every comment, but the food processor is made for this! There is a tiny hole in the top that allows the perfect amount of oil to drizzle in. So much easier just to dump it in the top & let the machine do the work! I make this all the time now. Love it!
So I just made my first batch….AMAZING!!! Now I just need to go make some southwestern line cumin dressing!!! So excited I didn’t jack it up!! Haha
Home raised eggs do not have expiration dates. And I seriously doubt you’d want mayo that was as old as a fresh eggs ‘expiration’ date!
Thanks Mel!
Just made my first batch of perfect mayo. Wow, that was easy! Because my husband is anosmic (no sense of smell) and appreciates strong flavors (like the lamb I made), I did use extra-virgin olive oil. He loves to make tuna and capers with mayo, so the first taste test was his. Even for him, the flavor is quite strong for mayo. So, this batch will be used for salad dressings instead. I’ll try a second batch with light OO.
I used these blog tips:
1) mix 1/4 c oil with all other ingredients and let sit in the food processor for 25 minutes before making.
2) poured the 1 cup of oil into the cylinder (plug/pusher?) that has a little hole in the bottom, and let gravity drizzle the oil into the mix.
3) started counting my 3 minutes, several times, but lost track, so estimated and listened for the audio change as the mayo thicked.
4) at about 3 minutes give or take, and when the consistency LOOKED good, I stopped.
5) Success! Happy Dance!
I have a friend with family members with multiple allergies, so I’m going to suggest this recipe to her with the tip to use chia seeds. Yay.
As a follow-up, I made a second batch today with LIGHT olive oil, also successful.
The first batch made with a food processor was slightly thicker than the second batch made with a blender.
One more happy note: The food processor “pusher” that has a little drizzle hole in the bottom worked great also in my blender. I let the mix (1/4 c oil and everything else) set for 25 minutes then let it run in the blender for about 15-20 seconds before pouring the remaining 1c oil in the pusher. It took it’s time drizzling away while I watched and listened. Try it!
No fail mayo! Use a mini food processor! Just pour the oil trough the holes in the lid and it comes out perfect every time! Don’t even need room temp eggs’
I also used my mini food processor. Worked like a charm!
It worked!!! I let everything sit out for about 4 hours, then gave it a whirl
I was thrilled when it came out! My trick: put two of your favorite songs on (totaling about 4 minutes)and your goal is to make the drizzle last the whole time!
I couldn’t find light olive oil at my fancy-pants store, so I tried grapeseed oil. I also drizzled in a bit of white truffle oil at the end, OMG! Yum!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Just made this and it’s amazing! It worked very well in my Vitamix. I made the creamy italian dressing for my salad at lunch and squealed with excitement! Finally….a “clean” creamy dressing!
Tonight I’ll be making the cucumber salad. Thank you thank you!
I tried making the mayo in my Vitamix and it turned out terrible. It seemed like the blender was cooking the mixture. How long and on what speed did you make your mayo?
Thanks!
I started in my Blendtec but couldn’t get a good, slow consistent speed so I transferred it to my food processor and it came out like a dream!
[...] 1/4 cup homemade mayo [...]
[...] time! I had organic baby carrots dipped in my homemade Mayo, plus a few macadamia nuts (expensive, yes; but have greater health benefits than other [...]
[...] with pickles and this mayo (yes, HOMEMADE). I made two versions. Dill and Celery Salt and a Spicy version (Garlic Salt and [...]
My first try; perfection! Thank you for posting this recipe. Delicious!
[...] :: Homemade mayo is stunningly simple to make, and could be a nice addition to a BLT salad as well. [...]
[...] writes like the dickens and her posts are always fun to read. I’ve made her Czech meatballs and home made mayo, which is funny because neither of us really liked mayo before but making your own makes you feel [...]
I just tried this recipe and it turned out perfect (and delicious)!!! I’m slowly easing the folks into a dino-diet, so this did go on a hoagie roll with the ‘Thai beef’ version of the hot plate (from Well Fed) minus the green beans. It was super delicious! I can’t wait to try the mayo in tuna salad!
[...] nom nom! But they do taste better with some kind of creamy sauce, so I thought I'd try a homemade mayo recipe for breakfast. Follow her directions completely! I decided I would just put the egg in some warm [...]
thank you so so so much for this! i’m on day 12 of my Whole30 and was hurting BADLY for the soul food of my people (Sunday morning bagels with cream cheese, lox, capers, etc.) and i thought to myself, this is lemony and creamy – maybe i could take some leftovers and use this to make salmon salad, with capers, diced red onions, and grated carrots on a bed of baby greens? worked so beautifully!!! thank you thank you thank you! might try it again with actual sliced smoked salmon, capers and onions. cheers!
Congratulations on 12 days of Whole30. Keep going! You’re awesome!
Your salmon salad sounds SO good. I’m totally stealing that idea. Really glad you found a tasty substitute so you don’t feel deprived. YAY!
Thanks for this recipe! I used organic safflower oil (high in CLA) and it turned out amazing! Friends are asking me for mayo as Christmas gifts……really!
I am a hard core Hellman’s fan, but I know homemade is better for me. I made yours and all I can say is that it rocks! Patience did pay off! Thanks for you recipe. Kathy
[...] 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (I make my own, following this recipe) [...]
[...] 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (I make my own, following this recipe) [...]
I did my second round of this last night. The first one was too oily and didnt taste nice at all. Last night I left 1/4 cup of oil out and it is YUMMY
[...] 1 cup of paleo mayonnaise [...]
[...] [...]
I so love this mayo. I’m 3 for 4. I did find that the one that failed was really gross – I couldn’t rescue it as it totally separated and got chunky
I wrote about my love for this mayo on my blog today too 
http://houseofpeanut.blogspot.com/2012/02/glory-of-homemade-mayonnaise.html
[...] Homemade mayo [...]
I want to start making homemade mayo/salad dressing, but I’m still freaked out by the idea of using raw eggs. Could you explain why it’s okay?
K Ann, I talked about this above but to reiterate, I would avoid raw eggs. I made this mayo with a raw egg purchased at the health food store and my husband and I both had a terrible case of food poisoning, and it was the ONLY thing I could track it to since we’d eaten either different foods or leftovers properly refrigerated from a previous meal with no bad reactions. I now use either pasteurized eggs (hard to find – here they are called “safe eggs” on the carton) or an egg substitute which works just as well. 1/4 cup of egg sub = 1 egg.
Just made this finally for the first time. It tastes A.Ma.Zing. I am so excited that it turned out right on the first try. I had to use liquid deli mustard because I didnt have brown. I used some inexpensive, non-virgin olive oil that I found at Trader Joes, and mixed this up in my cheap-o Black and Decker Food processor. I am completely geeking out on how good it turned out and how yummy it is. Plus it has no yucky canola oil. yay!!
I would like to say that I do not like mayo at all….but have become a total convert after making this recipe! Made a double batch this past weekend and can’t get enough of the “You’re the Top!” tuna salad! It’s so refreshing on cucumber rounds.
I’m going to take a crack at making some of the creamy dressings, too and can’t wait to try egg salad!
I used to HATE mayo. Refused to eat it. But now, I make up excuses to put it in and on stuff. It’s a little problem
Made a batch of the mayo and had an epic failure. Reviewed your instructions and then also my Judith Jones cookbook & finally realized I have medium eggs not large. Used 2 eggs in the 2nd batch and it’s a winner. I’m also not fond of mayo but this one rocks! I’ve now got other people hooked on it!
Hey, friends. If you have trouble with your mayo, here’s some more troubleshooting advice:
- are you using a LARGE egg, or is it medium. If it looks smallish for a large egg, use just the yolk and see if that helps.
- let the egg and lemon juice sit together in the blender/processor to come to room temp so they’re exactly the same temperature as each other
- reduce the amount of oil to 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup.
Good luck!
tried this last night. The end result wasn’t perfect mayo but it wasn’t a fail either. it was a good in-between for what i wanted it for which was just to drizzle over EVERYTHING. i can’t believe how yummy it was! i used a hand held blender and i took over 5 minutes to drizzle in the remaining olive oil. Thanks for the post!
Hi Mel, my first attempt at the mayo turned out well and I was quite pleased with myself!. However, the taste of the olive oil I used was too overpowering. I have not been able to find a “light” olive oil that does not contain other, unacceptable, oils. I live on O’ahu and availability of variety leaves much to be desired. Short of ordering from an off-island source, have you any olive oil brands you might suggest?
Thank you! I love your recipes. Made the “Paleo Pad Thai” tonight and it rocked! Keep up the awesome work.
Hmmm… can you get Bertolli there? That brand has a very light tasting flavor that should work. If not, you might try avocado or macadamia oil. I avoided those in my recipe because they’re kind of expensive, but they both have very little flavor, so that might be a good option for you.
Thanks for the sweet words about my recipes. Glad you liked the pad thai!
Hi there Mel,
I was curious – is there such a thing as over blending this Mayo that’d cause it to break down again? I’ve made 3 batches so far, the first came out fantastic – the second two not so much..today I did the third and all appeared to go well, then all of a sudden it broke and turned into a oil mixture (like a salad dressing).. Is it possible I took to long adding in the oil? I was literally doing it drop by drop and sometimes a very thin line..but never went quick or dumped….I had my blender on the lowest setting possible also..=/
Jenn, I’ve had that experience sometimes, too. You might try adding less oil — it calls for one cup, but you might try 3/4 and if it’s making the “mayo noise” and it’s really thick, just stop there. No need to do the full 1 cup of oil.
I had that problem repeatedly as well. My fix: I use a stick blender. I put ALL of the ingredients including all of the oil into the container (I use a medium sized bowl for 1 cup of oil, and I use a bowl instead of the beaker that came with it because it’s easier to clean and can go in the dishwasher). I stick the immersion blender in, turn it on a couple of seconds, and it’s perfectly done! Fast, easy, perfect every time. No need to drizzle the oil or worry about the speed, or spatters all over the place coming through the hole in the blender lid.
Also, for what it’s worth, I WILL NOT, REPEAT I WILL NOT, use raw egg. I use either pasteurized eggs or egg substitute. Both work well, and I don’t have to worry about another horrible case of salmonella poisoning which believe me, was no fun! I know Mel says eggs should be safe, but once in a while one is NOT, and how do you know? My husband and I both got a horrific case of food poisoning from one from a health food store, so now I won’t use raw eggs in an end product that is not cooked. Period. ‘Nuff said. Use them at your own risk.
Thanks D’ann! I am going to give that a try on the next batch and see how it works out, appreciate the heads up!
I’ve heard lots of good feedback on stick blenders, so good to know that’s another options.
Re: the egg. I want to make something emminently clear. You wrote: “I know Mel says eggs should be safe, but once in a while one is NOT, and how do you know?”
I’ve said repeatedly that *I* have never had a problem with raw egg. If anyone is the least bit concerned, absolutely use one of the suggested alternatives. Please do not say “Mel says it’s OK, so it’s OK.” I’ve never had a problem, but everyone must make that choice for themselves.
[...] cooking the bacon you can make the mayo and the timing should be perfect. The mayo recipe is from this link. Melissa from “The Clothes Make the Girl” does a great job at explaining how to do [...]
My first attempt and it was a success. Unfortunately my jar is slightly too small for the resulting mixture…oh well, it’s Paleo so I can lick the spoon. Right?
Fabulous stuff!
THX,
Pete
Do you think avocado oil would work?
I have 4 lovely bottles of it and am wondering …
Yes! Avocado oil should work great.
I made the mayo- and the cucumber salad (I have WEll Fed)(And it’s AWESOME) this weekend. I swore I had dry mustard seasoning, but after tearing apart all the seasoning storage areas realized that I didn’t, so I winged it and used dijon mustard. And even so, it is OUTSTANDING STUFF. And I kept thinking how proud you’d be, i took all the time in the world, after ensuring that room temperature had been met for the egg & lemon juice. It took me over 6 minutes to slow drizzle the 1 cup of olive oil and it was SOOO WORTH IT! It’s heavenly. Thank you thank you thank you thank you!
Congratulations on your first batch. YAY! Hope you have lots of fun cooking from Well Fed.
i also made the mayo last night… after adding the initial 1/4 cup of oil, i think i only used another 1/2-3/4 cup before it just wouldn’t spin in the blender anymore… but it was delicious! does smudge like the mayo? our cats do… but they’re exceptionally strange (they like fresh corn tortillas…………)
It’s funny… Smudge is the only cat I’ve ever met with zero interest in people food. She just really doesn’t care, but she loves her kitty kibble. Go figure!
I love making my own mayo…I use a Delonghi immersion blender and it takes all of 10-15 seconds to make. I add some cayenne pepper and chipotle pepper to make the best Mayo for fish or dips..so delicious
Thank you!! I just made my first batch of homemade mayo!
[...] wasn’t quite up to my health par, though pretty close. Following this very helpful recipe that I will refer you to for tips and what-to-do-ifs, I bought a fairly cheap Extra Light Tasting olive oil to use instead of salad or vegetable [...]
Yep: 3 tries with a stick blender and each time it came out perfect…AND… no wait time! I just tossed all ingredients into the cup and 2 seconds later I had Mayo…no joke!
Now I can stop putting my blender in time out for laughing at me when I kill the Mayo…Mmm,.. I do love this stuff, thanks Mel!
[...] in a hand full of dried fruit or maybe a pickle or two, and it is a different meal every time. Both The Clothes Make the Girl and The Food Lovers’ Primal Palate have great posts about making this delicious condiment. [...]
Just made the mayo, expressly following your directions (in fact, was drizzling oil for 9 minutes, and it came out fabulous.
You are, as always, the bomb-diggity, and thank you for the recipe. Have just made cranberry pecan chicken salad with apple, shallot, and rosemary using The Mayo and life is good, baby!
[...] trying it the first time, but nowadays I can make a batch of mayo in 5 minutes. Basic mayonnaise, as taught by Melissa, calls for 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard. Basic is good, but other options can be wonderful. In this [...]
[...] Homemade mayo [...]
They cucumbers look awesome! How do you get it liquidy? Mine didn’t turn out that way and I’m terrified to add more vinegar. Ahhh!
[...] Melissa Joulwan warns of the importance of starting with all ingredients at room temperature. I have had success using a cold egg, but am mixing with apple cider vinegar and not lemon juice like Melissa. That difference might make a difference. [...]
I’ve just found your blog via AT (congratulations on your win!) and went through some post which I really liked, and I then stumbled across this recipe.
I make my own mayonnaise all the time mixing by hand with a wooden spoon and it’s not hard at all. I think it’s easier to control and less mess to clean than using a food processor. It doesn’t even matter if eggs and oil are at room temperature because:
-I use only the egg yolk, and about 1 cup of oil per one egg yolk
-olive oil is really not recommended; use sunflower oil (best, and tastes so good), corn or canola oil instead
-I use one tsp of mustard per egg yolk instead of dry mustard
The mayonnaise will break more easily in the beginning, so it’s very important to pour your oil very slowly in the beginning (the first 1/8 of the cup or so in very small amounts). Once it starts to emulsify, you can pour more oil at a time and if you mix quickly after, it will not “break”.
One trick that helps make the mayonnaise less prone to “breaking” is to add one hard boiled egg yolk, crushed, to the liquid egg yolk in the beginning; it will help retain some of the oil and make the mayonnaise more stable (and more yellow).
So basically my recipe is: put one egg yolk, one tsp regular mustard and one crushed hard boiled egg yolk (optional) in a medium-sized bowl (about 1 quart). Have one cup oil (sunflower, corn, or canola) ready in an cup that is easy to pour from, or use a dripping bottle. With your left hand, pour slowly a little oil (like only few drops at a time in the beginning) in your bowl while you mix with your right hand using a wooden spoon. Once your mixture begins to emulsify you can drop a little more oil at a time, and then mix until it’s all absorbed in the mixture, then add some more oil, mix again, etc
It really only takes 5 minutes to do all this, without much effort and it tastes divine!
Once its done, you can add some lemon juice, garlic, etc For some salads (potato salad, mushroom salad) I find that mayo can be a little too rich, so I mix it half-half with sour cream.
Sweet! Thanks for sharing your technique — great to give mayo-lovers lots of options.
Oh
My
Golly!
That is the best tasting thing I think I’ve ever eaten! Patience paid off and it is divine! Even if I weren’t embracing Paleo, I’d not eat processed mayo ever again! Thank you for this!
I made your mayo and it’s fabulous! I strayed a little bit though by sticking everything in a cup and using my stick blender.
I let it go for about 10 seconds without moving it and then slowly lifted it up.
Mayo came out thick and creamy!
[...] 3/4 – 1 cup homemade mayo [...]
So I decided to have a meal of appetizers for dinner last night. The idea was to have everything ready by the time she got home (almost made it, but she got to spend some time in the sun while I finished). I was super nervous about making this because I had tried before and failed (to be fair I read your recipe but tried with what I had on hand and tried with a hand mixer). Yesterday though I followed it to a T and it came out thick and creamy. Since I had like three different things going at one time, several times I put the cup of oil down to check on my sweet potato fries or bacon and I think this helped me to slow it down. It was a little more tangy because I think I put a little too much lemon juice. But everything was room temperature. We had paleo BLTs, cucumber tuna salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, and sweet potato fries, all featuring your mayonnaise in a different form. Thanks so much! Buying your book soon!
That sounds like a pretty awesome dinner party! I can’t believe you walked away from the mayo while you were making it… brave! Very brave!
Glad it all worked out. Congrats on the master feast!
Hey Mel,
I just tried the mayo. Let the egg and lemon juice rest in the blender for about 40 minutes before starting. The emulsion was PERFECT, i had no issues – except I only used the 1/4 cup of oil called for at the beginning of the recipe and then about a 1/2 cup additional in the emulsion. Also, it tasted a LITTLE saltier than I would usually like. I used sea salt, think it makes a difference?
I also added 1/2 tsp of paprika at the end to give it a little something extra!
I suspect because you cut back on the amount of oil, you’ll also need to cut back on the salt. Just cut it to 1/4 tsp next time, and you should be in good shape.
Ok, just finished the first batch of mayo I made on Sunday today…I made broccoli slaw, tuna fish, added it to my mashed califlower and made a sauce for grilled salmon. Getting ready to whip up my second batch, I will never buy mayo again. Thanks Mel, I am sold, definately purchasing your cookbook tomorrow!!!! Shannon
YAY! Glad you’re having fun with it!
Damnit! I was drizzling sloooowwwwwwwllllyyyyyy and the emulsion was looking good- like really too thick for my blender but I still had a lot of oil left! I guess I should have stopped and taken it as is but I kept adding the oil and then it broke… now I have salad dressing in the back of my refrigerator =( Oh well…
I read on the web that you can always make a second batch and once that is set you supposedly can drizzle the broken batch in. (Not sure if it really works though, I never tried it)
If you keep having trouble with the blender (mine always pointed and laughed at me when I tried to make Mayo) I’d suggest purchasing a stick blender if you can…so far I’ve had 100% success with it, perfect mayo everytime.
Thanks Mel! My batch came out perfectly. I love it. My first meal was egg salad on a pure wrap
[...] She rocks to the nth degree! The very first recipe I made of hers was…you guessed it, her homemade mayo. She has a literally foolproof recipe. I have done it several times now, and it comes out [...]
[...] and it has always worked as long as everything is room temperature! This recipe is easy and quick: The Secret to Homemade Mayo? Patience. | theclothesmakethegirl Reply With Quote « Previous Thread | Next Thread [...]
[...] 1 c Paleo Mayonnaise [...]
Hey Mel, I made your recipe for the second time the other day, but doubled the batch. After spending what seemed like ages slowly drizzling olive oil into the mixture, fully confident I would end up with a few cupfuls of the delicious emulsion, I finished only to discover that it was a huge, runny flop.
Since it was late and I had no more time or patience to deal with it, I stuck the whole blender in my fridge. Today, determined to salvage my fridge staple, I pulled it back out and followed the advice on my mother’s homemade mayo recipe (which I posted when I shared your recipe, the first time I made homemade mayo: http://atransparentlife.com/2012/03/01/whip-it-how-to-make-heathy-mayonnaise/).
I planned ahead and allowed an egg to come to very close to room temperature, then poured out about 3/4 of the mixture into a measuring cup. After quickly pulsing the remaining 1/4 of the mixture with the fresh egg, I began again, slowly drizzling the rest of the oily-with-chunks gloop into the blender, this time not quite so confident.
Imagine my delight when it not only worked, but it worked quickly and more deliciously than the first time I made your recipe! Huzzah!
Anyway, I wanted to thank you again for sharing this recipe and to give you and your readers a very useful tip for when your mayo attempt flops: add an egg and try again!
Sarah
My friend shared this recipe with me and I just finished making it! I’m happy to report that it turned out wonderfully, except I find it has a stronger lemon flavour. I will tweak it for next time!
It took about 10 minutes of slowly pouring the oil into the mixture to get it right – I only have a hand mixer, so it was a workout for both arms. It was very gratifying when it started to thicken and I had to fight the urge to dump the last 3 tablespoons or so into the mix!
ANyway, it’s delicious! Thanks!
I’m about to make my second batch – the first batch lasted ONE evening…mostly because I had also just made some bacon and DH and I discovered how yummy bacon dipped in this mayo is…(don’t worry, we didn’t eat too much!). I used it to make a ranch dressing, and added it to tuna for a snack. It was wonderful every single way we tried it! Making a double batch tonight so that it might last us a whole week…
Thanks for sharing such an awesome (and paleo!!) recipe for mayo!
I just made this to make some chicken salad and my kids loved it! Sooooooo easy and yummy! Thank you!
[...] found the recipe at The Clothes Make the Girl – it really works but you have to practice patience! It took me about 20 minutes to make [...]
Sarah, you saved my mayo!!! Melissa, you are awesome, as is your mayo recipe, but I had a major FAIL and Sarah’s suggestion of adding an additional egg to 1/4 of the ‘failed mayo’ worked like a charm! Love your cookbook. Love your blog.
[...] at about 3pm — fresh baby spinach topped with egg salad (two hard boiled eggs mashed with homemade mayo) and the other half of the avocado from breakfast. This was not my favorite lunch, and I probably [...]
I started Whole30 yesterday, and last night, I tried this mayo recipe. It turned out PERFECTLY! I have a small food processor, and the lid has a reservoir with a small hole, where I could pour the oil. So it made it very easy for me to take my time.
The only mistake I made was, for the first 1/4 cup, I used EVOO on accident, even though I specifically bought light tasting to make the mayo! I caught myself and for the remaining 1 cup used the light stuff. It came out very well nonetheless. I then made tuna salad, and I’m really excited to try your salad dressings.
Thanks so much!
Congratulations on your Whole30 — and on your mayo success. YAY! Wishing you lots of happy, healthy meals. I just had a new recipe that I’ll be sharing soon — Fiesta Tuna Salad! Thank all that is good for homemade mayo.
I made the creamy Italian dressing last night, as well as your slow cooker pork ribs. I cooked them over night. Both are fantastic, thank you so much for your site! I also just received your cookbook in the mail
Tonight I’m going to try your southwest cumin sauce with the ribs.
Thank you so much for the tip if the mayo fails. I made it today for the first time with coconut oil and olive oil, but for some reason it would not thicken as much as I wanted (it was the consistency of a creamy salad dressing), so I put in a glass jar in the back of the ‘fridge, just check on it after a few hours and it’s perfect!
Okay – the first time this was perfect. Then the second time, the emulsion broke. I used it as-is but it made me sad to see it every time. Tonight it failed again, so I tried the extra yolk trick. One egg yolk, beaten well, then slowly add the failed mayo and voila! Not as thick as the perfect first elusive time but still great!
I had a craving tonight for tuna salad, but don’t really like mayo. I tried your recipe and it’s delicious! Thank you so much.
[...] salsa verde, shredded chicken thighs with homemade taco seasoning, chopped avocado and a drizzle of homemade mayo just because I like playing with my not-so-fancy drizzle bottle I got at a restaurant supply store. [...]
My batch turned out absolutely perfect! Thank You
[...] to 1-1/2 tsp mayonnaise ( see http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/06/03/the-secret-to-homemade-mayo-patience/ for a great paleo mayo [...]
[...] tablespoons of paleo mayonnaise (mine tastes pretty strong olive oil as I used extra virgin olive oil and it is recommended to use [...]
I have made mayonaise a few times over the years with about 50% success. My first attempt (fail) suffered from a disbelief that THAT much oil was needed. It was creamy (emulsification occurred) but there was insufficient oil to make a true mayo. The next attempt I just kept trickling oil in from the 1/2 liter bottle (success when the bottle was about empty, phew!). I didn’t realize that a quart of mayo requires no less than a quart of oil.
More or less following Melissa’s recipe my success rate is now better than 50%. I doubled the recipe because I wanted this to last for my wife and my Whole30 that we started one week ago. But after getting all 2 1/2 cups of oil in and having a thick-ish, smooth and creamy (and GORGEOUS!) i took a small taste and it was way too lemon-y. I am not always good about measuring liquids so I figured I had overdone the lemon juice. I added a couple egg yolks and then started to slowly add oil (Costco’s Pure Olive Oil) from the bottle.
I used my KitchenAid mixer with its whipping attachment and in the end about a liter of oil. I think a blender or food processor is faster than a mixer as I had mine going at nearly full speed for at least 5 to 8 minutes before the consistency was right… I tipped the whole thing upside down and it hung there beautifully, deliciously giggling slightly. I then decided to flavor it slightly with garlic, and medium chili powder.
Used it a couple hours later as a coating on pork loin steaks that I broiled. Excellent!!
Thank you, Melissa for all your work on this blog. It will be a big help in my wife and me having a successful Whole30.
ojb
Glad you had success! Making a double batch is tricky business. I’ve never been successful making a double at once because my blender can’t handle it — so I just make them back to back. I’ve got my technique down, so it takes me two minutes to drizzle.
Happy Whole30 to you! Congratulations on making the switch.
[...] Serves 2 | Prep 10 min. Ingredients: 1/2 to 1 large jalapeno pepper, finely minced 4 scallions (green & white) sliced thin, 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder, 3/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (can substitute crushed red pepper flakes), pinch cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar, 2 cans tuna, salt & black pepper, to taste 2-3 tablespoons homemade mayo [...]
Any recommendations on a very light tasting olive oil? I used the light olive oil from Costco and while the mayo came out perfect the overly olive oil taste was not a hit at our house. Thanks.
You might try Filippo Berio (http://www.filippoberio.com/Products/ExtraLight.asp) or Bertoli (http://www.villabertolli.com/products/1003/extra-light-tasting.aspx).
I use our crappy grocery store brand and it has ZERO olive taste, which is great.
Yay!! Just made this. How good is it? Thank you. You are a star!
[...] Clothes Make the Girl — really helpful, emphasizes the importance of bringing ingredients to room temperature. She also took time to respond to her readers, which is super nice. In those comments, I found a link to… [...]
[...] different yummies every day to switch it up. One of these days I’m going to experiment with this W30/Paleo mayo recipe, for a more traditional chicken (and tuna!) salad so I can add celery and eggs… OOOHHHH!!!! [...]
[...] The key to great mayo is patience and room temperature. I used the guide from Melissa at The Clothes Make the Girl and all her advice was spot on! Room temperature egg and lemon, and go very S-L-O-W! http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/06/03/the-secret-to-homemade-mayo-patience/ [...]
[...] I had good intentions of following this recipe. But here’s the thing. I had *most* of the ingredients for this, and I was really, really hungry. And I liked the idea of this recipe, because it didn’t involve mayonnaise. Susan and I have started another Whole 30 program, so we aren’t eating store-bought mayonnaise, and I’m usually too lazy to make it from scratch. Rather, I am not lazy, because mayonnaise takes five minutes to make, but I forget to take an egg out and bring it to room temperature before I want to eat. But you should make some homemade mayonnaise. Here’s the link at The Clothes Make the Girl: Mayonnaise. [...]
[...] 1/2 cup homemade paleo mayo 2 tsp apple cider [...]
I have made this mayo twice now, and both times the results were creamy, delectable, and oh so smooth. This mayo knocks the socks off of ANY OTHER MAYO ON THE PLANET! Seriously. It’s THAT good.
I love your blog, Well Fed, your choice of spices, and probably you too (if I knew you. No creepy I swear!)
Thank you for shaking up my paleo palate!
P.S. Your weekly cookup is GENIUS!
YAY! So glad you’re enjoying the mayo… and spicy goodness in Well Fed. Thanks for letting me know!
Also, I love it when you call me a genius.
Made mayo for the first time yesterday. I used my Vitamix and it got so hot, I was afraid it would ruin the mayo, so I quickly dumped in the rest of the oil — so of course was runny. Is using a Vitamix not a good idea?
It probably ran it too fast. Run it on the slowest speed or use a stick (immersion) blender instead. In that case, just dump everything into the blender cup and blend for a few SECONDS. Turns out great.
I have used this exact recipe using an immersion blender. As long as you put in the egg first, you can put all of the ingredients in the cup and give it a whirl. Keep the blender in the bottom until it starts to look like Mayo, and move up to get it all mixed in. Comes out perfect, and is done in 2 mins tops! I didn’t even let the egg come to room temp the second time, and it still worked!
[...] tried the recipe from The Clothes Make the Girl and Nom Nom Paleo, and they are both pretty similar. I used olive oil for both versions, but the [...]
I may have made a mayo mishap…
I tried this today, but apparently took the “very slow” part a bit too seriously. I think I was adding oil for 7 or 8 minutes or longer (I missed my oven timer going off!)…
… During which time the base of my blender got quite warm.
My mayo looks like mayo, it’s creamy! But it was rather well-heated when it was done. And now, after refrigerating, it tastes a bit sour…
I assume it’s not supposed to be sour?
It’s been a LONG time since I’ve eaten any mayo. Is it possibly unsafe at this point?
(Or could I have used the wrong spice – I have dried/powdered mustard seed – not “dried mustard”? Ack!)
I was so excited to see it get all gelled and goopy, kind of a letdown to get the un-mayo-like sour taste!
Thanks!
The mayo getting warm shouldn’t cause any problems, but if it tastes “sour,” that doesn’t sound delicious.
This recipe is very lemony, as opposed to traditional mayo which is made with various vinegars. Plus, commercial mayo probably has some sweeteners, so the homemade might taste more “tart” but it should taste sour in a way that’s unpleasant. I wish I could taste-test it for you!
(Dried mustard seed is the same as dried mustard.)
Thanks Mel! LOL, I wish you could come taste it too
that would help.
Maybe I overdid the lemon, I did add an extra squirt to make up for the sloshing out of the spoon as I tried to get to the blender.
My cooking skills are still under development (clearly).