3 egg yolks
1 1/3 cup oil (I often use all peanut or canola oil. You can also use a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in place of some of the plainer oils to give your mayo a nice flavor.)
1 tablespoon white vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
First, separate your eggs. Eggs are easiest to separate when they are cold, but you actually want your eggs at room temperature for this recipe. What to do? Rinse two bowls (or one bowl and one ramekin) in hot water. Dry with a paper towel. Separate your eggs placing two yolks in one warm bowl and one yolk in another. It's ok if your yolks break.
Now whisk the remaining egg yolk until sticky. Start the mixer again and slowly add the egg yolk to the mix. Now add the remaining oil in a slow steady stream. Once you've added all the oil stir in the vinegar or lemon juice. Taste and add a little more salt or pepper if you like.
What if your mayonnaise turns out too runny or curdles (the oil separates from the yolks)? It could be you incorporated the oil too quickly so a proper emulsion couldn't form. Or you may have done everything right and it just didn't work. That happens too. My best theory is that fresher eggs work best. So unless you have access to farm fresh eggs sometimes, homemade mayonnaise just doesn't come out perfect every time.
What to do? Rinse a glass mixing bowl with hot water, pat dry with a clean cloth of paper towel. Combine one teaspoon dijon mustard with one tablespoon of the failed mayo mixture. Whisk by hand until an emulsion begins to form, the mixture becomes a creamy paste. Slowly whisk in the rest of the failed mayo mixture, a few tablespoons at a time. Now the failed mayo turns into success mayo! Neat, huh? This works for me almost every time. The addition of the dijon mustard will slightly alter the taste of your final mayo, but in a good way! Now you're ready to make a tuna salad sandwich. 🙂 Enjoy! xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman
72 Comments
I’ve tried my hand at making mayo a few times because my boyfriend is from a traditional Slovenian family on his dad’s side and his grandmother always made it from scratch. I was never too successful. I’ll try it this way too, to see if it turns out!
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Super interesting! I really like these tutorials that show you how to make kitchen basics yourself. And I’m always fascinated (and sometimes scared) when learning what goes in to the foods I eat.
In France, we always mix the egg yolk with good Dijon mustard before adding the oil. Love love love.
My family and I are from Romania and we always made everything that we ate. So mayo was always on the list to make since we use it in a lot of traditional dishes. We use egg yolks, canola oil, a little salt, a little yellow mustard and a tablespoon of sour cream. It is amazing! You pretty much use a mixer to mix the eggs together then add in about a teaspoon of oil at a time till it gets to a good consistency. At the end add in 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard, mix together and add a large tablespoon of sour cream and mix together again. Add salt to taste. I know it sounds nasty, but it tastes so good!
There’s nothing like home-made mayonnaise! I love making my own, it is so different to buying it from a shop!
Just read a recipe the other day on making homemade mayo, but lost the link. So glad you posted this, I really want to make it! Do you think vegetable oil would work too? Or do you recommend canola/peanut?
Oo, that looks yummy and I didnt try it, so I need xa
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Yay! It’s so good to see recipes like this one that can be used every day and in a basic kitchen–no special, expensive ingredients. My family owns about 50 chickens and so we do have access to the freshest of fresh eggs. You can sure taste the difference between homemade and storebought!
This is so great!! So much better to make homemade rather than buying the ones with all those chemicals. I never knew how to make mayo, so thanks, I will be trying this!
Never tried making my own mayo, this looks easy enough…to make!
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This was way less gross than I thought mayo would be. Snaps.
Awesome! I think mayo can be quite healthy if you use egg yolks from pastured hens, and good quality olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar. Thanks for sharing!
I have maneged to make creamy white mayo, the trick for me is whisk the yokes until they are kind of a pale yellow. Then adding til oil.
everyone says homemade mayo makes all the difference, I’m still scared to try it!
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When I’m on the paleo diet, I have to make my own mayo all the time. I used to whisk it by hand which required A LOT of patience and muscle work. But I recently discovered the magic of using an immersion blender. All you gotta do is crack the whole egg in (white and all), add some lemon juice, salt, any other seasonings (I like to use fresh minced garlic and rosemary), and a cup of oil (I use olive oil). Then you just put the immersion blender at the bottom and blend for 20 seconds and VOILA! Delicious, perfect, and fool-proof mayo. It actually turns out white this way.
Another super-easy way is to use your food processor! Worked perfectly for me the first time and it’s easy to pour the oil in gradually instead of having to keep a hand on a mixer.
I’ve always wanted to make my own mayonnaise, but I’m terrified. This post has definitely given me more confidence, though I’ll probably have to wait until I’m reunited with proper equipment and decent ingredients at Easter!
Your photos are absolutely beautiful too!
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Interesting. How long do you whisk the yolks for before adding anything else?
-Emma
Never tried using my immersion blender. Will have to give that a go with my next batch. 🙂
-Emma
Using a food processor can work well but I would recommend at least doubling this batch. Unless you have an itty bitty processor it may not blend the yolks well, they can kind of just get trapped under the blade since there’s not a lot of volume at first. So if I know I can use all the mayo within a couple weeks then I’ll use a processor to make a big batch. 🙂
-Emma
Mayo is so good. Yum! I saw a really cool method once involving an immersion blender.
Making my own mayo is on my bucket list 🙂 I should get on that soon so I can cross it off!
Does homemade mayo go bad quicker than store bought? How long does yours keep for?
You need to add mustard for a terrific mayonnaise! You should try!
This looks great, I’ll give if a whirl! How long will this last on the fridge?x
“Use and electric mixer to whisk the two egg yolks plus salt together until sticky.”
“After the all the holiday treats last month January is a good time to focus on fruits and veggies.”
Thanks, this is a great recipe! I was just talking about making some mayo a few days ago, but heard it was easy to screw up.
xo,
Heather
http://reverieno17.blogspot.com
This is the way we do mayonnaise at home in Ecuador, in the blender we put an egg, a garlic clove, fresh cilantro or basil, fresh lemon juice, salt, plain mustard, and ground pepper. We start the blender and blend until everything is a purée, then we slow down the speed and add the oil of our preference making the liquid as thin as possible, we keep adding the oil until the mayo is thick and creamy. Very tasty! And since it doesn’t have any chemicals you want to put your mayo in the fridge and eat it in less then a week. Enjoy!
Thanks Emma!
One question – how long does this last in the fridge (approximately)? Scary shelf-stable mayo lasts for like… years. Ick!
If it curdles then splash a little water in it while mixing. This usually makes it re-emulsify…not a real word.
I had forgotten about this but in Argentina (where I grew up). Store-bought mayo is yellow! and no, I don’t want to know either why the American one is white.
Since moving to Europe, most of the mayo I’ve had has been homemade and I keep meaning to try my hand at it but have been too intimidated. Not anymore! Can’t wait to test this out!
WOAH ITS THAT EASY?
http://talisatalksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/covergirl-hot-passion-lipstick.html
It lasts about two weeks. 🙂 – Emma
yep, i second that. the immersion blender method is without a doubt the easiest way to make homemade mayo. probably one of the easiest things to make, period. here’s a great link if you wanna do your homework: http://foodwishes.blogspot.de/2007/07/homemade-mayonnaise-recipe-video-big.html
This is such a cool recipe! I never thought to make mayonnaise at home, it definitely seems so intimidating, but you made it look so easy! I’ll definitely try this out sometime. 🙂
Our mom made a home made mayonnaise for almost 10 years when we were little kids. And she always added mustard also, it was the same recipe as yours but with spoon of mustard also, and this adds much to the tasty side of it. And yes it is a bit yellowish compared to the one we buy at the store, but more easy on the complexion(if that is the right word, not an native English speaker here :).
Maybe i should try to make it again, it was a long time ago, maybe I’ll like it better than the “store” one.
xoxo
Dosta
Store bought mayo is white because they use the whites as well. There isn’t a very efficient way to separate the yolks during mass production, so they go all in. I juuust heard this on America’s Test Kitchen – thanks public tv 🙂
Ooh this is perfect! I’ve been out of mayo for at least two weeks! Sandwiches don’t taste the same, but it’s been great experimenting with other choices.
You can add cilantro or ginger for a different and strong flavor. Cilantro mayo on top of patacones (fried plantain chips – here’s a recipe http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/06/30/patacones-or-tostones/) is just delicious.
I use ginger mayo on hamburgers or pork chops.
Estela
I’m from Chile (southamerica) and we always make home-made mayo. We make it with sunflower oil and somethimes with the white part of the egg, makes it more creamy, softer and pale yellow 🙂 i usually make it from scratch whisking with a fork only in one bowl, and when it gets a bit hard i use an electric blender and mix the whites to make it softer, works for me !
Now how do I make a tuna sandwich? You guys gotta walk me through it all come on! cooking challenged…
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I can’t believe how hard you’re making this. 😛 I’m from Belgium and since we eat mayo with our fries (a tradition!), almost everyone knows how to make their own.
I use a whole egg, a tea spoon of mustard, some vinegar and salt & pepper. I always start by mixing (with an electrical mixer) all those ingredients together. When they’re mixed, add some oil (doesn’t matter which, I believe, olive adds some extra flavour, but for a neutral mayo I use Maize oil). Only add more oil when all of your oil has disappeared (that’s really the most important part, if you don’t, your mayo will shift), slowly pour it in while you’re mixing. Just keep on adding oil and mixing it away until you like the consistency and you’re done. 🙂
Interesting. As a French person, when I moved to North America, I was really surprised and kind of afraid of the industrial white mayo (still find it strange 🙂
Homemade is always the best! (I am kind of terrified of what they put in the store-bought mayonnaise to). I find it’s easier to make if you start out with really small quantities, like only one egg yolk.
I’m from Spain, and everybody makes delicious homemade mayo here, not big stuff, only that we use sunflower seeds oil, or olive oil (this last one, the healthiest), depending on the flavour we prefer.
I consider very important to warn cookers, homemade mayonnaise must always be kept in the fridge, as room temperature might aid rare eggs to develop salmonella food-poisoning.
But don’t panic, it is all about keeping it cool…
I use the French method: Dijon mustard, and only one yolk (did you know that you can make approximately 16 liters of mayo using just 1 yolk?). I do it by hand, and it takes 5 minutes tops – once it takes the right consistency, you can go much faster with the oil. A tip: if you want to make a lighter version, you can beat the egg white stiff, and fold it into your mayo – you get what is called mousseline mayonnaise, it’s airier with a velvety feel.
I love this as I always use mayo but this recipe saves me from all the crap they put in the store brands and it would save me money. With that said, I can see it will definitely take allot of patience but should be worth it. Thanks! 🙂
I usully do my own mayonaise, but I try to mix the olive oil, it’s better not to put the olive oil that you put in your salad, because is stronger, you have to use another with less grades. I always put lemmon too. And when I got pregnant, I changed the eggs for milk (because it’s better not to eat eggs without cooking them, while you are pregnant)
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Wow! You actually made that super complicated. I can make mayo in about 30 seconds! You need an immersion blender. 🙂
My recipe:
1 large egg (the whole thing)
2 Tbsp acid (I like ACV)
1 cup oil (I use a light olive oil – NOT EVOO, yuck!)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
Put all in ingredients in the tall cup that comes with the immersion blender in the order listed. No separating, no waiting to come to room temp. Put the immersion blender all the way to the bottom and turn it on. Boom! Mayo in 30 seconds. Wiggle it around a little to make sure all the oil is incorporated. It makes about a cup. 🙂 I’ve never had a failure with this method and I make about 3 batches per week! It’s great as a base for salad dressing, which is where most of ours gets used up.
I am definitely going to try this! How long does the mayo last??
How long can you keep it in the fridge?
Looks great thanks!
how cool! i never thought of doing this!
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
I did not even know you COULD make your own mayonnaise till I visited Romania and that is about the only mayo they use there. AND it was so so so so so good! Been wanting to make it ever since.
May have to try this out!! I love using mayo but would love to make it a tad healthier (and less expensive!)
I love homemade mayo! Even if it’s not the healthiest, it’s still better than buying it at the store! This looks delicious and I can’t wait to make some!
xoxo
Taylor
http://www.welcomehometaylor.com
2-3 min. with a handmixer at maximum speed until it’s pale yellow and has a lot of tiny bubbles.
Wow. I have never liked mayo, not sure why….but, in looking at this post, and the way you made it – it looks light and yummy. So Emma, I may just have to give it a try!
I totally second Corinne’s method. I use only a whole egg, a good cup of olive oil and salt. I put the blender at the bottom at the lower speed and then pull it slowly to the top until all oil is transformed in mayonaise. It always works, but if it curdles I just add another egg at room temperature and start all over again. 10 seconds and you’re done!
I mix mustard powder, salt and egg yolks first then do the emulsion
This sounds amazing, thank you for the recommendation!
Just wondering, will this last as long as regular mayo in the fridge?
You must have read my blog, because I just blogged about wanting to make my own mayo! My new year’s resolution is to make more of my own food instead of buying it.
I’ve just started making mayo in my thermomix! It’s the yummiest!
Thank you! I am so excited to try this!!
Two questions, about how long does this mayo last for?
And how easy is it to make aioli from this recipe? I’m very new to the whole cooking thing, but I’m a sucker for some honey aioli! Is it as simple as adding honey into the recipe or is there a different process?
xo!
tm
Fresh mayo should be eaten within a few days.
Aioli is made the same way, you add garlic paste (i.e. garlic crushed to a smooth paste) to the egg yolk and then you proceed.
I had the same experience the first time I made homemade mayo too! I was like, wait, that worked??! I had read so many posts about how easy it is to mess up, and trust me, I have messed it up before too. I’ll have to try your method for fixing it next time it doesn’t emulsify.
Also, I got some great advise on how to make homemade mayo less yellow and more like the color of store bought mayo. I used to work in a spice and tea shop and one of our regular customers, who was an amateur chef, told me to add a tablespoon of boiling water to the mayo right after it was made and stir it well. I don’t know why this works but it does! I do this every time I make mayo now. 🙂
this is much more easy, in less than 2 minutes you have the best mayo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPF_rLpd9o#t=45
Nicole
I remember when my Mom used to make the homemade-mayo in a mixer. She made it seem to be quite tricky, so it was just something she made for special occasions. Now I always use the immersion blender and I don’t know what all the fuss is about … 😉 My ingredients are: canola oil, 1 whole egg, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. If you don’t have fresh eggs or the mayo is too runny just add (some) milk and everything will be fine. 🙂
What is the sandwich in the picture? My boyfriend recently made homemade mayo and we’re looking for stuff to make with it!
xo
Kristina
TweeValleyHigh.com
This is pretty exciting! What is the shelf life?