Why go to the trouble of making stuff?
Good question. I’ve ask myself that on occasion, especially when I find myself spending precious time deciphering a recipe for something I could grab at the store in two seconds flat.
Sometimes it’s to avoid toxins or artificial ingredients (like in my homemade fly spray or from-scratch BBQ sauce).
Sometimes it’s because I end up with a superior product than the store-bought version (like in the case of my homemade honey lip balm recipe).
But a lot of the time, I DIY just for the sheer joy of it. Creating is one of my favorite things, whether the creation involves homemade butter, or homesteading ebooks, or this blog.
Creating energizes me better than a cup of black coffee. There’s something about sitting back to admire a completed projected and being able to say, “Hey– I made that!” I’m a creation addict. And there’s no turning back.
Anyone relate?
The Industrial Age brought us many advances, and I’m thankful for well-stocked stores full of ready-made products when I need them. However, only ever being a consumer robs of us of the pleasure that accompanies producing. And creating. And experimenting. And crafting. And while I don’t feel the need to make/grow/product/create every single tiny thing in my life, any time I can add a new skill to my repertoire, it makes me oh so happy.
Which brings us to homemade mayo. Creamy, rich, decadent homemade mayo.
Do You Mayo?
In the interest of full transparency, I don’t make homemade mayonnaise all the time. Just keepin’ it real. It’s not something we eat a ton, and so it’s usually easier for me to simply buy it and keep it in the fridge the rare occasions.
But, how cool is it to say you know how to make mayo from scratch? Because you never know when the insatiable urge for mayo will arise when you don’t have any in the fridge. Plus, you can skip out on the less-than-desirable soybean or canola oils present in many of the premade versions.
There are lots of ways to make mayo, but I’ve found my food processor to be the the simplest method. And holy cow, I just discovered the COOLEST thing you guys.
Go get your food processor right now. No really, go get it. I’ll wait.
Grab the plunger thingie and look at the bottom. Is there a tiny hole? If so, you have a crazy-awesome mayo-making machine at your disposal and you didn’t even know it.
The teeny hole lets the oil drizzle ever-so-slowly into the rest of the mayonnaise mixture so it emulsifies perfectly. It’s borderline miraculous. Technology, y’all. Who woulda thought?
Brought to You By…
(this post contains affiliate links)
This particular homemade mayo recipe is from the book Homegrown & Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living by Deborah Niemann.
Deborah does a fantastic job of introducing the reader to the idea of doing what you can to produce more, and this book is a slam-dunk reference for anyone looking to expand their self-reliance, or even just understand the options that are available in the homesteading lifestyle.
Homegrown & Handmade includes chapters on:
- Growing a sustainable garden
- Cooking from the sustainable garden
- Managing a backyard orchard
- Keeping a backyard poultry flock
- Starting a home dairy
- Keeping fiber animals
- And much more
Now, onto the mayonnaise!
5 Minute Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe
(From Homegrown & Handmade, used with permission)
You Will Need:
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons organic lemon juice (buy it here)
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (buy it here)
- 1 1/4 cups mild cooking oil (see below for options)
Instructions:
Place the eggs in a food processor or blender and blend for 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, salt, and dry mustard and blend for an additional 15 seconds.
Slowly drizzle in the oil while the processor or blender runs on high (the slower you drizzle, the thicker the mayo). If the plunger of your food processor lid has the magical hole, simply fill it and let the oil drain out before re-filling with the remainder of the oil.
Blend until the mayo is creamy and thick. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt, if needed.
Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Kitchen Notes:
- The key to the best-tasting homemade mayonnaise is to use a mild tasting oil, such as light olive oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, or safflower oil. Skip using straight extra-virgin olive oil–it’s too strong and will overpower it in an unpleasant way. You can also mix oils 50/50 (such as half olive oil/half avocado oil). For a super thick mayo, use half light olive oil and half expeller pressed coconut oil (the kind that does not taste like coconuts– buy it here).
- Spice up homemade mayo with extra herbs and spices, such as 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 teaspoon dill weed, 1 to 3 teaspoons chili powder, or 1 teaspoon paprika, just to name a few.
- Any food processor will work, but I have a model similar to this one. (My actual model has been discontinued, I think.)
- Real mayo does contain raw eggs, so be sure to use eggs from a healthy, reputable source.
- You can also use a hand blender to make mayo, although I have had the best results with a food processor. You can also use a plain ol’ whisk, but I’m a wimp and my arm gets tired.
P.S. Don’t forget to grab your copy of Homegrown & Handmade for more from-scratch living ideas!
That was the first book that I received as a gift. It sparked my desire to homestead. I allowed me to hear the voice of the Lord confirming that homesteading was what he wanted my family to do. It is nice to see that the first website (theprairiehomestead.com) someone told me about is referencing the first book. Super corny…
Super awesome way to go, To hear and follow the Lords’s voice.
Real mayo doesn’t have to contain raw eggs. There are many methods of heating the eggs just enough and making the mayo.
However, those of us that have our own chickens are proud of a fact that our eggs are safe and it’s fun to use them in the freshest way possible! ?
can you do this with an egg replacer?
Great easy recipe. To make the mayo last longer, add 2 tablespoons whey and ferment overnight. I found that it’s important to make sure the eggs are room temperature. I’ve never had my mayo not thicken except for the time I used cold eggs.
Do you mix the whey with everything else and let the finished mayo sit on the counter overnight, then refrigerate?
Thanks for the tip about not using cold eggs.
I added fresh garlic and it was delicious!
Why is mine yellow and yours is white?
Some chickens have a much deeper orangeish colour( it’s completely natural and healthy.) That must be the reason yours is that way. It’s okay it happens to me too.
I keep mine much longer than a week! I make it fairly stiff by adding oil till it is the right consistency. Make pink sauce by mixing with tomato ketchup, the children loved it.
The immersion / stick blender also works very well… can make it in the jar you store it in – much less to clean up : )
Yep. It’s so quick and easy! Don’t think I’ll ever do it any other way.
Thanks for this tip, dont know why I didn’t try the immersion blender before. I have had times when the emulsification process did not go well and the mayo was runny. Now i know to emulsify the eggs well first, before adding olive oil. Cant wait to try the immersion blender.
Hi Jill,
Love your website. Along the line of really quick and simple, a couple of years ago Erica from NW Edible (nwedible@gmail.com) posted a homemade mayo recipe very similar to yours and even easier. The only difference was the amount of oil was 2 full cups. (Erica’s recipe made half of yours but it also works well when doubled.) Her instructions were to put all ingredients in a wide-mouth quart mason jar and mix with a submersible blender, raising the blender as the mayo thickened. Takes only a couple of minutes to get nice thick mayo.
Keep up the great work!
It looks so tasty! I must try it again, have never got it to work properly. I will try with macadamia oil. Olive is definitely too strong.
?THANK YOU JILL!!! Even though in theory I have always loved the idea of making my own mayo, in practice I’d kinda gone off it – any mayo I made tasted yuckily of whatever oil I used and absolute nothing like my beloved Hellmann’s. Sigh. Until tonight!! Light olive oil and expeller pressed coconut oil are MAGIC and combined are complete game changers. YAAAAAAAAY!!! ?
Exactly how long is it safe to keep homemade mayonnaise in my frig?
Okay, just answered my own qestion when reading again more carefully. ?
Mayonnaise is the king of condiments! Thanks for the recipe.
Do you really use the entire egg? all other recipes for mayo I have found only use egg yolks, so I’m a little confused. Maybe that is why this mayonnaise is white instead of yellow.
Greetigs from a German urban homestead.
I’m a little shocked to read all the great health information on this site and then see vegetable oil as the main ingredient in this mayo recipe. True the olive oil, can be heavy, but if you use a true first cold pressed olive oil with some dijon mustard and lemon, it takes away bit of the heaviness. Avocado oil or fractionated coconut oil may work well too. Vegetable oils (canola, soybean, corn, cooking oil, basically any seed oil) are the definition of processed food.
I’ve made mayo in the blender for years. Always the best, and you can control how acidy it tastes by adding more or less vinegar or lemon juice.
A couple of times I used balsamic vinegar… it came out more tan than cream colored, but the flavor was astounding! You could also use wine vinegar instead.
Glad to hear that you enjoy making your own mayo! Using balsamic vinegar sounds great!
I love homemade mayo. I use 2 cups organic sunflower oil. also I add vinegar and it last longer in the frig.
Can you use store bought eggs and achieve the same level of safety since they are raw?
Jill, great recipe!
You gotta try a sous vide – pasteurize your eggs and make ‘safe’ homemade mayo. (and ice cream, salad dressing, egg nog…)
I made mayo last week with my immersion blender the same way I have for years. I had a senior moment and got distracted and forgot to add the lemon juice. It still made a nice creamy mayo. I always thought you needed the acid to emulsify the egg and oil. It tasted great, but didn’t have that tang I’m used to. So I added a couple tblsps of ACV. Worked well. My next batch I’m going to add some whey I have left over from cheese making. I love kitchen science!
Well, I followed the directions to the letter and the oil didn’t bond or something because it’s just a oily mess. I put it in the fridge and it’s still oily. Not sure if I put it in another food processor or blender if this would combine the ingredients afterwards or not. Disappointing. I was using an immersion blender. Put the 2 egg yolks in hit it for 30 seconds, then added the other ingredients and blended for an additional 10-15 seconds and then started adding the oil slowly. I probably had it blending for more than 5 minutes and it never congealed (not sure if that is the term you use or not) but it just never looked like mayo. It looks like oily mess. If I put this in a blender now, would it possibly combine?.
If it is very thick and seems separated it is because there is too little fluid. Add more lemon. If you think it is too acidic, just add water or egg white. Mayo separates typically if there is too much liquid added in the beginning or the oil is poured too quickly. Hopefully these tips help!