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How to Make Mayonnaise

If you’ve ever wondered how to make mayonnaise — here’s a drizzle method with an immersion blender! I love using clean avocado oil because it’s tasteless.

How to Make Mayonnaise | homemade mayonnaise recipes | homemade mayo | paleo recipes | Whole30 recipes | perrysplate.com

I hate mayonnaise. I hate how it tastes. I hate how it smells.

There, I said it. So, why did I go to the trouble of making it from scratch? It was more like a means to an end. Let me back up a bit.

I really like ranch dressing. My favorite used to be the little packets of seasoning that you use to make it yourself. Mmm… heaven. Until I realized those little packets are full of monosodium glutamate (MSG). No wonder it tastes like heaven.

So what does this have to do with mayonnaise?

Mayonnaise is key ingredient in making homemade ranch dressing. As I tested out different recipes, I substituted plain yogurt for the mayonnaise, but it never tasted right to me. Mayonnaise was the missing ingredient. Bummer.

But because I had gone to great lengths to avoid the “MSG packets” as my husband calls them, it would make sense to go further and avoid the nasty oils and junk in commercial mayonnaise. Even the “olive oil” types of mayonnaise still contain mostly soybean oil.

By the way…. pictured up there with my homemade mayo is some Homemade Ghee. It’s easy to make, too!

How to Make Mayonnaise | homemade mayonnaise recipes | homemade mayo | paleo recipes | Whole30 recipes | perrysplate.com

Oh, it goes one more step, folks.

Mayonnaise is basically an emulsion of egg yolks and oil (with seasonings). Making mayonnaise from scratch means eating raw egg yolks, so using high-quality free-range eggs is important. (“cage-free” is not the same thing as “free-range”)

When we moved to Reno, I searched on Craigslist to see if anyone was selling eggs from chickens they raised in their own backyard. (You probably think I’m completely nuts. Or a complete hippie.) I found a woman who lives a mile and a half from me who sells me the eggs from her “girls”. (The eggs in the photo above… aren’t they pretty? And yes, that one in the middle is light green. I had no idea eggs came in light green.)

How to Make Mayonnaise | homemade mayonnaise recipes | homemade mayo | paleo recipes | Whole30 recipes | perrysplate.com

When you get fresh eggs, they come in all different sizes and a few different colors. The color of the egg has to do with the breed of chicken. Brown eggs aren’t any more nutritious or better tasting than white eggs, despite how “fancy” they look in the grocery store.

How to Make Mayonnaise | homemade mayonnaise recipes | homemade mayo | paleo recipes | Whole30 recipes | perrysplate.com

You’ll also notice that the yolks from fresh may be darker. Fresh eggs taste better, too. I won’t go into the nutritional differences between fresh and commercial eggs. Let’s just say that whatever you put into the chicken is what comes out in the egg. Feed the chickens a healthy diet (what they’re genetically designed to eat) and you get healthy chickens (and healthy eggs). Feed the chickens garbage and. . . well, you can figure out the rest. The same principle is true with animals. And humans.

K, back to the mayonnaise. Using an immersion blender make this a piece of cake, but you can also use a food processor — I actually use my food processor more often than an immersion blender.

Put all the ingredients except for the oil into a bowl or a large plastic cup. Buzz it for a minute or so until it gets creamy, then gradually add the oil in a small drizzle while blending.

When you drizzle in the oil and blend it for a minute or two it gets thick! It’s not as thick as regular mayonnaise yet (it will thicken after it sits in the fridge), but you can go ahead and use it.

Keep it in an airtight jar in the fridge and it will keep for a week. Next time I’ll have a recipe for Paleo Ranch Dressing that will knock your socks off!

How to Make Mayonnaise

How to Make Mayonnaise

Yield: about 1 cup

If you've ever wondered how to make mayonnaise -- here's a drizzle method with an immersion blender! I love using clean avocado oil because it's tasteless.

Ingredients

  • 2 egg yolks (fresh, free-range eggs if possible)
  • 1/2 tsp ground mustard
  • 2 T lemon juice
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup avocado oil or light olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a medium-sized bowl (or a large plastic cup) combine all the ingredients except for the oil. Insert immersion blender and give it a quick buzz until it's creamy.
  2. Still continue to blend as you add the oil in a slow drizzle. The mixture should thicken after a minute or two. If you're using a cup, use up and down motions to bring the emulsion together. Adjust seasonings if necessary and store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.

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Ken

Sunday 26th of May 2019

Seems tasty but it stayed really liquidity. Any idea what went wrong?

Natalie Perry

Friday 31st of May 2019

Just how liquid? Like, milk? Or more like a loose pudding? Sometimes homemade mayo is runnier than regular mayo. You could try adding an extra yolk next time. And making sure you add the oil really slowly. If it's as runny as milk, it means it didn't emulsify (Usually because the oil was added too quickly.)

Katie

Sunday 9th of February 2014

I just made mayo today for the first time. (Sorry but I used another Paleo blogger's recipe) the only big differences in the two recipes is that she calls for 1 whole egg and no vinegar (I think it could've used the vinegar). The thing that may help those with thickening issues is letting your egg come to room temperature first. She also says to let the lemon juice and egg sit and become friends while they come to room temp ;) I didn't care for the evoo mayo. I'm gonna look for another lighter flavored olive oil.

jUNE KOZAK KANE

Tuesday 10th of December 2013

While I truly loved your piece and all that you stand for, I just wanted to note one important fact: When Canada created Can-ola oil, it used rapeseed oil, once scientists had discovered how to remove the poisons from rapeseed. Because of the horrific nature of the name, they got permission to call it grapeseed oil instead of rapeseed oil. Actual oil from grapes is usually careful to call itself grape seed oil. Otherwise, there's a chance you might just be getting canola oil, an artificially created product. I do love olive oil, and am glad you used it.

Natalie Perry

Tuesday 10th of December 2013

Thank you for that, June! I checked my grapeseed oil and was reassured that it is, in fact, grape seed oil.

Sue Belz

Tuesday 10th of December 2013

I used only the yokes. I did use a cheaper olive oil than usual and I was told that extra virgin olive oil was too strong for mayonnaise and would give it a bitter tastes. Don't know what else to do.

Natalie Perry

Tuesday 10th of December 2013

I didn't mind the taste when I used extra-virgin, but yes, it does have a stronger flavor than a neutral oil would have. I hope you find out why it's not working!

Sue Belz

Monday 2nd of December 2013

I tried 4 different recipies, a whole bottle of olive oil and a dozen eggs trying to make mayonnaise. I still couldn't get it to thicken. I poured the oil as slowly as possible and had the blender running constantly and all I got is white olive oil juice. It seemed to emulsify somewhat on the sides but it never really thickened. I made mayonnaise years ago with regular oil and never had a problem. Is it just the olive oil or what? I think I have given up.

Natalie Perry

Monday 9th of December 2013

I'm sorry to hear that, Sue! I was making it once and it wouldn't thicken and I realized I had used the whole egg instead of just the yolks. I don't know what else to suggest. What kind of olive oil were you using? I used extra-virgin, but I can't imagine the type of olive oil would be the problem. I've also used both grapeseed and avocado oil without any trouble.

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