Recipe: Mayonnaise

Let's take a moment to cover one of the most essential basic recipes.  Yes it's basic, but like I said, it's also essential.  If you can't make mayonnaise, you won't be able to make a Caesar dressing or any other of a wide variety of emulsified egg dressings.  Even Hollandaise works in almost the same way - the idea that egg yolks have the ability to hold a certain amount of fat in an emulsion (actually, a large egg yolk can hold 200ml / 7oz of oil).  Once you get a feel for how much fat a yolk can handle, you can just about throw the recipe out the window and get crazy.  For precisely that reason, this recipe is intentionally as plain Jane, basic and no monkey business as I can make it - no garlic, no strange oils, fancy vinegars, herbs or seasonings - all that you can do yourself once you start to have fun with it.  This recipe is scaled down to one yolk for simplicity and you will have to whisk it by hand at this size - scale it up a few times and you can use a blender or mixer to make things easier.  Once you've got this down, the substitutions are endless (see my recipes for brown butter mayonnaise and pancetta mayonnaise) - learn to handle the emulsion first, then go nuts.

Some tips:

 - have all your ingredients a room temperature - it makes for easier emulsion

 - add the majority of your seasoning to the beaten yolks, then they disperse easier as the oil is added

 - gradually adding the oil is very important - just do it

 - watch the mayonnaise as you make it - if the fat starts to separate, it's split and you need to stop

 - if the emulsion gets too thick, it will split, add a bit of the vinegar or even a tiny bit of water to loosen it

 - if it splits, whisk up a new egg yolk and add the split mayonnaise the same as you added the oil the first time

You will need:

1                                 egg yolk

1.25ml /  1/4tsp          dry mustard

10ml / 2tsp                 white wine vinegar

200ml / 7oz                vegetable oil

to taste                        lemon juice

to taste                        kosher salt

to taste                        white pepper

as needed                   water (room temperature)

Method:

 - have all ingredients at room temperaure

 - separate the egg and whisk the yolk until light and pale

 - add the mustard, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper and whisk

 - add a little of the vinegar and whisk

 - very slowly, start adding the oil, making sure the emulsion holds continuously

 - continue adding the oil, occasionally alternating with more of the vinegar

 - once all the oil and vinegar are added, season with lemon juice, salt and pepper

 - adjust the consistency with more liquid if needed

 - store in the fridge until use

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