Homemade Mayonnaise Help

[dragon_hawk]

I've been wanting to make my own mayonnaise lately, and after searching around the internet, I thought this recipe seemed to be the safest/most 'fail' proof. At first things were okay, but the egg and oil started separating. So I used the posters trick with the second egg yoke, and it instantly changed into the right texture. I was so excited,

Comments

[peradouro]

did you add the same ratio of egg yolk/oil the second time?

[dragon_hawk]

I didn't make any changes to the recipe, other than adding that 3rd egg, in hopes that the oil would bond to it better. Which it didn't unfortunately.

[peradouro]

hm. well all i could think of is that you added something extra and it upset the ratio of egg to oil.

[n7of9]

what kind of oil were you using? i've always made successful mayo with olive oil, but i've never tried any others because that's all i use

[bombazzinedoll]

the kind of oil shouldn't matter, tbh, as long as it's neutral (i.e. mostly flavourless).

[dragon_hawk]

I used peanut oil, with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, to make a cup. I didn't want to use all EVOO, because of the strong flavour.

How do you generally make your mayonnaise?

[n7of9]

someone else said the oil doesn't matter (it was just a stab in the dark on my part)

i use my mum's method, 2 egg yolks, slow mixer, slowly add oil until you have the consistency you want...i add the lemon in the middle of the process

i have found that a hand mixer is best because you can 'feel' it when you're mixing it...don't know how valid that is though...lol

[bombazzinedoll]

okay, first trick of making mayo is that you only want to add dribbles of oil, at the start. and I mean like, a few drops here, whisk whisk whisk, and then a few drops there, whisk whisk whisk, etc, and then once you have a stable mixture, you can very gradually begin adding more oil at a time (not heavy streams so that you drown the emulsion, but slow, steady drizzles). mayo must be coaxed out of your ingredients, not beaten - or in this case, drowned. more oil was added than the yolk(s) could handle at once, which is what broke the emulsion.

to fix your mayonnaise, you can try taking some of your mixture and whisking it (in another bowl) into a liiittle bit of warm water, like a spoonful, until it's frothy and pale. Gradually whisk more and more of the separated mixture into your emulsion+water mixture - you should see it begin to thicken - and once that stabilizes, you can gradually incorporate it back into your broken mayonnaise.

[dragon_hawk]

Thanks for the suggestion on fixing my already broken mayo, but after leaving it on the kitchen counter while I went to get groceries, I decided to scrap it, just in case.
Would you be able to repost that link you had before you edited your comment? ;) I'll try that one out next time.

As for dribbling the oil, I did my best to do so. I used a bottle with a sippy type lid, and just dripped the oil in at first (it took forever), then dribbled it after I had dripped about half a cup into the egg mixture. I also used an electric beater... would that have made a difference?

[dragon_hawk]

whoops, that was someone else who posted the link. Sorry about that. Ignore that bit.

[bombazzinedoll]

haha ack, I don't remember leaving any link tbh, but it's been a long day and I'm tired and my short term memory is shot, lol.

I tend not to use an electric beater - it moves everything too fast and it's harder to control, especially when it's your first time. I recommend just using a whisk or a fork; it'll take you longer, but you'll have far more control over what you're doing. the most important thing is to keep up a steady whisking motion when you're dribbling in the oil - it could even help if you add a dribble of warm water to bind the yolk and the oil - and it will also stretch out how much mayo you can make (the average large egg yolk will hold about 8 oz of oil). but keep everything moving and you should be all right.