Mayo is a deliciously rich dollop that makes everything from fries to a sandwich just so much better.
And it’s one of the great basics of cooking.
“I always say when it comes to cooking if you know how to make a mayonnaise you're on the right track. Making a mayonnaise is one of those basic essentials that everyone should know how to make because it's so adaptable to many different recipes,” says Justine Schofield, who makes mayonnaise for her prawn baguette in Tropical Gourmet: New Caledonia (get the recipe here).
Her advice for anyone who’s never tried? Don’t be hard on yourself if something goes wrong.
Francophile crab and prawn baguette Source: Tropical Gourmet: New Caledonia
“It’s one of those things where you have to allow yourself to stuff it up, because it probably will happen.” Don’t give up, she says – it’s a recipe worth mastering.
The other advantage of making your own is you control what goes into it: no preservatives or colourings, and you can create your own flavour combinations.
Want to give it a go? Here are our top tips for making mayo magic.
Two secrets to success
First, have all your ingredients at room temperature. Mayo might work if you grab your eggs and mustard from the fridge and jump straight in, but your chances of a smooth result, no curdling, are better if everything is at room temp.
Second, start slow.
Homemade mayonnaise is a delicious dollop - and so satisfying to make. Source: Getty Images / Manuela Bonci / EyeEm
Mayonnaise is an emulsion - basically, lots of tiny, tiny droplets of oil suspended in a mixture of egg, vinegar or lemon juice, water and often, mustard (read more detail in this explanation by The Food Lab). Taking things very slowly is the secret to making that emulsion work; go too fast and you’ll end up with a sad, curdled mess.
“The critical point with mayonnaise is at the beginning - after whisking egg and mustard, adding literally droplets of oil and whisking vigorously between each, and slowly, slowly adding more. Once it starts to thicken up, then you can be a bit more generous with the oil,” says Schofield.
More helpful hints
You can make mayonnaise with all kinds of oil but French chef Guillaume Brahimi says grapeseed oil is the best oil for most dressings. If you watch him demonstrate his mayonnaise, you’ll also see another helpful tip: pop a folded towel under the bowl, so it stays put while you’re whisking:
One of the big advantages of grapeseed oil is its neutral flavour; but you can choose other oils in order to add their flavour (it’s not cheap and it’s not easy to get, but pistachio oil makes an amazing mayonnaise!). Some find the flavour of olive oil too dominating (and it potentially has a higher chance of splitting); look for a light-flavoured olive oil, or try using a mixture of olive oil and a more neutral oil (we’ve also made a very tasty sauce by using a little melted butter in place of some of the oil).
What you use to make the mayo can change the texture. In that Food lab article we mentioned above, J. Kenji Lopez-Als shares his technique for mayo using a hand blender, while other recipes use a food processor. There are advantages to each – the food processor is easy (but you’ll make a big batch), the stick blender is quick and good for smaller quantities, while a whisk delivers a particularly luscious texture.
Mayonnaise is an emulsion, which can be created with a stick blender, food processor or whisk. Source: Getty Images / Annick Vanderschelden Photography
And if it does split or curdle? Place an egg yolk into a bowl and slowly beat in your broken mayonnaise, a little at a time.
Mayo with a twist
Using different ingredients when making your mayonnaise creates all kinds of tasty dollops: try Adam Liaw’s brown butter mayonnaise; Justine Schofield’s pepperberry mayonnaise; Luke Nguyen’s garlic mayonnaise; Matthew Evans’ tarragon mayonnaise; Guiseppe Fuzio’s tuna mayonnaise; or O Tama Carey’s garlic aioli.
Luke's salt and pepper scampi with garlic mayonnaise Source: Alan Benson
Take mayo and turn it into …
Mayo makes an outstanding base for all sorts of tasty sauces – one of our faves is a mixture of mayo and miso (no recipe needed for this one, just add enough miso to suit your tastes!). You can also transform it into wasabi mayo sauce (also super easy, it’s just mayo, wasabi paste and lime zest); Anjum Anand’s mayo-sour cream cumin and fennel salad dressing; or a spicy Russian mayo (mayo + chilli sauce + Worcestershire sauce + lemon juice + onion) that is divine in a Reuben sandwich with mayo and pickles – recipe for the sandwich as well as the mayo here.
It's also an ingredient in this green goddess dressing and in Shane Delia's gazpacho mayo, and in the chipotle sauce on these fish tacos:
Catch Justine Schofiled in Tropical Gourmet: New Caledonia 8.30pm Mondays on SBS Food and then SBS On Demand.
Reuben sandwich with spicy Russian mayonnaise and dill and garlic pickles Source: Petrina Tinslay
Spiced fish tacos with chipotle sauce Source: Smith Street Books
