Gettin' Saucy: Mayonnaise

by Diane
March is National Sauce Month and we've decided that should include condiments too! One of the most elusive condiments to me is mayonnaise. The most basic mayonnaise is just eggs and oil whisked by hand, mixed with a blender, or blended in a food processor.

So making homemade mayonnaise starts simple, but here are a few tips to help it stay that way:

1. Make sure you're ingredients are all at room temperature.
2. Beat your eggs or egg yolks before adding them to anything.
3. Add your oil sloooooooooowwwwlly. If the recipe says add by the drop, ADD BY THE DROP!
4. Taste it during the process of adding the oils. I didn't the first time and ended up adding to much an oil. 
5. No need to freak out if your mayonnaise breaks, you can still fix it. 

I have a few observations for the recipe I followed today. It called for olive oil, which made for a really smooth mayonnaise, but gave a little too much olive oil flavor for my everyday mayo. (Next time I'll taste it more along the way!) Every recipe is different which means there's something for everyone; here are a few I recommend:

Julia Child's Mayonnaise
Paula Deen's Mayonnaise
Alton Brown's Mayonnaise
Basic Homemade Mayonnaise

Once you've mastered the basic mayonnaise, you can get creative because this condiment can handle a lot of other flavors: basil, garlic, cranberry, chipotle...whatever. Tonight our mayo added a rich flavor to a tasty BLT!