Homemade Mayonnaise

When my chickens started laying last fall I wanted to try making my own mayonnaise. I found a few recipes and settled on one that sounded good to me and set about making it. I had to use my hand mixer and it took an eternity to get the oil/egg emulsion made. It didn't have the consistency that I was hoping for--more like a thick sauce than mayo. Also, the flavor was horrible. The recipe called for a ridiculous amount of lemon juice which made the mayo taste extremely bitter. I threw it out and started doing some research.

What I really, really wanted was a mayonnaise that tasted like what I was used to. Something that tasted like Hellmann's or Miracle Whip would be fantastic! I read the labels on the mayonnaise jars and tried to come up with a blend that was similar. I think I finally found a blend of ingredients that tastes the way I think mayo should.

Here's my list of ingredients:

• 1 cup canola oil


• 1 whole egg


• 1 tsp white vinegar


• 1 tsp honey mustard


• 1/4 tsp white pepper


• 1/4 tsp sugar


• 1/4 tsp table salt


• 1/8 tsp paprika

The next hurdle to overcome was the length of time it took to blend the ingredients. Every recipe I read instructed me to slowly, slowly, drizzle the oil into the egg and whisk like a mad woman! The last thing I wanted to do was stand at the kitchen counter and attempt to drizzle oil with my left hand while whisking with my right hand. I'm not that coordinated so chances are the oil would be drizzled too fast, too slow, or miss the bowl entirely. It took me about 15 minutes my first attempt to make the emulsion, even with my hand mixer. There had to be a simpler method!

Then I read in Angie's blog, "Home Grown" how she made her own mayo using her immersion blender. Eureka! This was the answer I was looking for! I immediately ordered my immersion blender and when it arrived the very first thing I made was a cup of mayo. It worked in less than 30 seconds and there was no need to drizzle the oil. I combined all the ingredients into the handy little beaker that came with my blender and let it do the work for me. Truly amazing.



Of course I had to try my blender in other applications too, such as making smooth applesauce, creamed soups and chowders, and some tomato sauces. It's such a great time saver I would recommend it to every cook I know.





















This is my immersion blender: