Basic Homemade Mayonnaise
Homemade mayonnaise is not difficult to make. And it’s so much better than anything you can purchase in the grocery store.
2-3 tablespoons wine or cider vinegar, or lemon juice
1-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste
2 large, very fresh egg yolks or 1 large, very fresh egg, cool room temperature
1-1½ cups vegetable oil, in a measuring cup with a pouring spout or in a squeeze bottle (a mixture of salad oil and olive oil if desired)
Homemade Mayonnaise: Traditional Whisk Method
- Blend the vinegar or lemon juice with salt, pepper, and mustard in a bowl (preferably one with a smaller base than top edge) large enough to accommodate a bulbous or balloon whisk. (A balloon whisk has multiple wires for quickly adding aerating and adding volume. You could also use an electric whisk, such as this one.)
- Add the egg yolks and whisk until very thick and sticky.
- Begin adding the oil, drop-by-drop, whisking constantly all the while. When the mayonnaise begins to thicken, you can add the oil at a SLIGHTLY faster pace, not too fast though. Each addition should be thoroughly incorporated and invisible before adding the next.
- Continue until all the oil is added; 1 cup oil will produce a thinner sauce than 1½ cups oil—it’s your choice. Don’t overbeat.
NOTE Overbeating with an electric whisk can cause heating, which may cause the emulsion to break.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more vinegar or lemon juice if necessary.
- Mayonnaise should be stored, covered, in the warmest part of the refrigerator. It will keep for about 1 week.
Makes 1-1½ cups.
Homemade Mayonnaise: Super-Fast Processor Method
This method takes under a minute and produces consistently great results. One cup of oil produces a mayonnaise with a light texture, while 1½ cups of oil produces a mayonnaise that is exceedingly thick.
- In a smallish processor (7-9 cup capacity), fitted with the steel blade, process the vinegar or lemon juice with salt, pepper, and mustard until well combined.
- Add 1 whole egg, and process to incorporate.
- With the machine running, drizzle the oil through the open feed tube, until all the oil is incorporated. (The easiest way to do this is to pour the oil into the feed tube insert with the machine running. When all of it has dripped into the developing mayonnaise, fill the insert with the remaining oil.)
- Continue until all the oil is added; 1 cup oil will produce a thinner sauce than 1½ cups oil—it’s your choice. Don’t over process.
NOTE Overbeating with a processor can cause heating, which may cause the emulsion to break.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more vinegar or lemon juice if necessary.
-
Mayonnaise should be stored, covered, in the warmest part of the refrigerator. It will keep for about 1 week.
Makes 1-1½ cups.
20 Homemade Mayonnaise Variations
Each of the following variations calls for adding minced, pureed, or mashed flavoring ingredients AFTER making the mayonnaise. This method gives you the greatest control over the flavor and texture of the mayonnaise. But of course, it necessitates an additional, separate step.
If time is of the essence and you actually prefer a thinner mayonnaise (such as for dressing a potato or macaroni salad), you can first puree the additional ingredients in the processor and then proceed with the Basic Homemade Mayonnaise recipe. Your resulting mayonnaise will be thinner than if you had incorporated the additional ingredients after making the mayonnaise. For either process though, be sure that the additional ingredients are as dry as possible before adding.
In general, ¼-½ cup of additional ingredients is the maximum amount you can add to Basic Homemade Mayonnaise and still retain some thickness to the mayonnaise.
Avocado Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add finely grated zest of 1 lime and ½ cup mashed and strained avocado. Use lime juice instead of vinegar.
Basil Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 4-6 tablespoons fresh minced basil.
Chipotle Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 1 canned, pureed chipotle chile in adobo sauce. Use lime juice instead of vinegar.
Chipotle & Roasted Red Pepper Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 canned, pureed chipotle chile in adobo sauce and 2 tablespoons pureed roasted red pepper. Use lime juice instead of vinegar.
Cilantro Lime Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2-4 tablespoons minced cilantro and 1 clove minced garlic. Use lime juice instead of vinegar.
Curry Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 1 tablespoon curry paste and 1 clove minced garlic. Use lime juice instead of vinegar.
Dill Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 tablespoons fresh minced dill, ½ teaspoon anchovy paste, and 1 clove minced garlic.
Dill Pickle Caper Mayonnaise (Tartar Sauce)
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 tablespoons minced dill pickles, 2 tablespoons minced capers, 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives, and 1 clove minced garlic. Use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
Dill Pickle & Herb Mayonnaise (Sauce Gribiche)
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 tablespoons minced dill pickles, 2 tablespoons minced capers, 1 tablespoon minced flat leaf parsley, 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon, and 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives.
Dill Pickle Caper Mayonnaise with Anchovies (Remoulade)
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 tablespoons minced dill pickles, 2 tablespoons minced capers, 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon, 1 tablespoon minced flat leaf parsley, 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives, 2 mashed anchovies, and 1 clove minced garlic. Use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
Garlic Mayonnaise (Aioli)
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 cloves minced garlic and extra drops of lemon juice.
Garlic Rosemary Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tablespoons fresh minced rosemary, and extra drops of lemon juice.
Ginger Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 1-2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger and 1 clove minced garlic. Use lime juice instead of vinegar.
Green Goddess Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives, 1½ teaspoon minced fresh tarragon and 1½ teaspoons minced fresh dill.
Green Onion Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 4-6 tablespoons minced green onion, 4 tablespoons minced parsley, and 2 cloves minced garlic.
Horseradish Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 1 tablespoon grated fresh horseradish.
Pesto Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 1-3 tablespoons pesto.
Roasted Red Pepper & Garlic Mayonnaise (Rouille)
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add ¼ cup pureed roasted red pepper, 2 cloves minced garlic and extra drops of lemon juice.
Wasabi Ginger Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add 2 gloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon wasabi paste, and 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger. Use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
Watercress Mayonnaise
To Basic Homemade Mayonnaise, add ½ cup minced watercress and 1 tablespoon minced green onion. Use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
Copyright 2011 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.
Hi, I wanted to create a mayonnaise with an oriental flavor; Would adding it to the egg yolk in place of the water serve to stop the emulsion from separating as well? ty Jennifer
Hi Jennifer. It’s best to complete the emulsification as specified and then add the flavoring elements. For instance, sesame oil can be added with the vegetable oil. Hope this helps. 🙂
Susan, I love your tips. I had never looked at the bottom of the feed tube of a food processor and by George, there’s the tiny hole you mention. What a revelation for oblivious folk like me, who had always taken out the feed tube and tried to pour the oil slowly from a spouted cup. Homemade mayo is a zillion times better than store-bought. I rarely make it, but you’ve renewed my interest in trying it – with a few of your fantastic variations.
Laura, that tiny hole is one of the world’s best kept secrets. LOL! Now I have to run to your blog to find out what Sephardic Charoset Balls are. I’m hoping for some kind of dessert. 🙂
Susan, I made some mayo last night using the feed tube for the oil for the first time and the batch turned out perfectly! Used it all up immediately in a potato salad and a pea salad we were making for a party. Thanks again for that tip. My food processor that has given me inconsistent results with mayo is a smaller one that’s ancient but functional. That may be what I get for buying a new work bowl instead of a new processor when the plastic wore out. Sometimes when I’m making a recipe that starts with a too-small quantity of cool ingredients I tip the food processor up a little to the side, holding the top and feed tube in place, so the liquid splashes around and contacts the blade better. Certainly it’s not a manufacturer-recommended technique, but if you try it you will see how that works. I needed to do that on this recipe on step one when only the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper were in the processor.
Mary, so glad it worked for you. I would have never thought to tip the processor to the side to get the eggs going. My new smaller processor works perfectly though with even a 1 egg batch of mayo. So easy too! Heading over to check out your Chickpea Salad. 🙂
I’ve had inconsistent results with homemade food processor mayo so I’ll pin this for your tips and tricks. I should try again with some of the really good free range eggs I get from a hobby farmer. I was not aware of there being a tiny hole at the bottom of the feed tube, thanks for teaching me about that! I read on a different blog that an immersion blender gives more consistent results than a food processor and the blogger who posted that tip wasn’t able to make mayo consistently until she got one. I don’t have an immersion blender, but it made me feel better to hear that I wasn’t the only blogger having trouble making mayo despite multiple attempts. What kind of oil to use is the other problem. I agree with you that all olive oil is too assertive, even though in general I try to use EVOO in recipes when I can. I’ve used mostly canola with a little olive oil in mayo in the past, but I’m using less canola, maybe I’d try grapeseed oil in this. I often just make tofu mayo with boxed silken tofu– that always works for me and avoids the question of what kind of oil to use. And adding tofu is an alternate way of saving split regular mayo, thickens it right up.
Thank you for your thoughtful points, Mary! I had a couple of disasters with processor mayonnaise as well and spent a few days wondering why the process I always used no longer worked. The egg sat on the bottom of the processor and didn’t get beaten sufficiently. Then it dawned on me that I had purchased larger processors for the kitchen and retired the smaller one that I had used for years. It was beat, so I ran out an bought a 7-9 cup processor and VOILA, perfect mayonnaise. I really like the smaller processor for everyday cooking tasks. It’s just right for dishes serving 2-6. Your tofu suggestion is interesting. I can’t wait to try it. Do let us know how the immersion blender works for you. I was going to try that and didn’t get to it. Best…Susan