Homemade Mayonnaise And Miracle Whip

Second probably only to ketchup, mayonnaise is one of the most commonly used dressings in the United States. Not only do we slather it upon sandwiches, it is used as a base to make a variety of other sauces and dressings such as the Ranch dressing. Like all dressings, mayonnaise is a simple emulsion of oil (fat) with and acid (in this recipe vinegar and lemon juice) and a small amount of spices.

Having a small homestead and raising chickens means we have access to free fresh eggs, so making our own mayonnaise seems like a no brainer. Making your own mayonnaise is not difficult and every culinary student has to learn to make mayonnaise by hand, and I have made gallons of mayonnaise during my eighteen years in the restaurant business. In this article I am going to give your three options on how to make some of the best mayonnaise you have ever tasted. The superior taste and low cost of homemade mayonnaise will make you ask yourself why you never made it before. I guarantee it!

If you want to make either of these recipes totally keto, then use olive or avocado oil as opposed to canola oil. Both olive and avocado oils have fewer omega 6's and decrease the effects of inflammation. They both can be rather expensive. If however, you are on budget and or you are not that concerned with the omega 3 to 6 ratio, then you can use the less expensive canola oil. In 'The Art And Science Of Low Carbohydrate Living, Dr's. Phinney and Volek use canola oil in their recipes. So I leave the choice of oil that you use up to you. I hope you will enjoy making this simple and tasty recipe.

The Ingredients

The ingredient list for homemade mayonnaise is pretty straight forward egg yolk and oil (fats), lemon juice and vinegar (acids), and seasonings of your choice. Because there are no stabilizers or preservatives like commercial prepared mayonnaise, homemade mayonnaise has a refrigerated shelf life of 7 to 10 days, but we will call it 7 days just to be safe.

Homemade Mayonnaise – Egg yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, salt mustard, sugar, white pepper and water.

Helmann's Mayonnaise – Water, soybean oil, whole eggs and egg yolks, sugar, salt, vinegar, lemon juice, calcium disodium EDTA (used to protect quality), natural flavors.

As you can see the ingredients are pretty much the same for the homemade mayonnaise and the Helmann's mayonnaise, with the exception of calcium disodium EDTA which is a food preservative. Without this preservative, commercial mayonnaise would have the same shelf life as homemade. It has been stated on some websites that this food preservative can rob your body of needed nutrients, but I am not here to argue this point, only to show the differences between the two products. You have to decide whether to use a commercial mayonnaise or not. I eat them, but you may not want to. Btw, I choose Helmann's mayonnaise because I like it, no other reason.

There is a slight risk when making your homemade mayonnaise that you will not find in commercially prepared mayonnaise is the risk of salmonella poisoning. Now our eggs come straight from our free range chickens so I have minimal risk of such, however there is a small (very small) risk of salmonella from eating raw unpasteurized eggs that you buy in the store. You can buy pasteurized eggs thus avoiding the risk, but they cost more.

Women who are pregnant, infants or those with compromised immune systems should avoid eating mayonnaise made with raw eggs unless they are pasteurized. While the risk is minimal that a raw egg would contain salmonella (about 1 egg in 20,000 in the 1990's per the CDC), I recommend you do not take the risk by using unpasteurized eggs if someone in your family is pregnant, or you have infants or small children under the age of 5 in your household. The risk is minimal, and the topic is controversial, but the ultimate choice is yours to make.

Cost Analysis

If you have access to fresh eggs, then you can make 8 ounces of your own mayonnaise for about $0.36 or roughly $0.05 per ounce (Great Value Canola oil 48oz bottle $1.98 or $0.04 per ounce). If you have to buy a dozen eggs it costs you a little more depending on what you pay for the eggs. A safe estimate would be to add an extra $0.10 to $0.15 for one egg, making the total cost $0.05 to $0.06 per ounce. Just to put that into perspective a 30 ounce jar of Great Value Mayonnaise is $2.98 ($0.10 per ounce), so it is 50-77% cheaper to make your own mayonnaise at home then it is to buy store bought mayonnaise. You can use just about any type of oil you like, but I prefer canola oil as it is neutral in flavor and is relatively inexpensive.

The Recipe

When making mayonnaise by hand you need to be able to use a whisk with your dominant hand while slowly adding or pouring the oil with your non-dominant hand. So if you have both hands busy, you need a way to keep the bowl you are making the mayonnaise in from spinning all over the counter and landing on the floor. I use a plastic bowl that has a silicone coating on the bottom that works great and the bowl never moves at all when making mayonnaise this way.

In the restaurant, we had stainless steel prep counters and metal bowls and they would not stay in one place. The trick is to take a hand towel and soak it in water, squeeze out the excess, and fold it into a small square and place your bowl on top of the dampened towel. This keeps the bowl from sliding around on your counter. We also placed dampened towels under all of our cutting boards to keep them from sliding around on the counters. While I still make mayonnaise by hand occasionally, my preferred method is to use my immersion (stick) blender.

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk

1 cup olive or canola oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon iodized salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard or ¼ teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon white pepper

Remove the egg from the fridge and separate the egg yolk and place in a small bowl and allow to come to room temperature before making the mayonnaise (30 to 60 minutes). Once the egg yolk has come to room temperature add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and whisk together until the mixture is completely combined and slightly frothy (about 1 minute).

Now is the time to start adding the oil. Initially you need to do this very slowly, a few drops at a time or a slow steady steam while continuously whisking until the mixture begins to form an emulsion. Once the egg and oil begin to come together, you can slowly increase the rate or pour of the oil to a slow steady stream as you continuously whisk the contents. If the emulsion begins to separate stop adding the oil and continue to whisk the contents in the bowl until the emulsion forms again.

Once your emulsion has fully formed and your mayonnaise appears complete, taste and adjust your seasonings to suit your personal preference and place into a bowl and cover with a lid and put it in the refrigerator to chill. Your homemade has a stable shelf life of 7 to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Chef's Note: Adding the oil to quickly to the egg yolk and seasoning mixture will cause your emulsion to separate or “break”. That's why it is imperative that you start out slow and steady at first. Both the molecules in the yolk and the fats need time to break their natural bonds and reform as an emulsion. This is not a problem when using a blender or food processor as their blending speeds are far faster than anything that you can do by hand.

Immersion Blender Directions

Place the egg yolk, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and sugar into a wide mouth pint mason jar, then add the canola oil on top. Take your immersion blender and push it down into the mason far until it touches the bottom and pulse it a few times. As the ingredients in the jar begin to form an emulsion. Once the bottom quarter of the jar is emulsified, slowly raise the blender while it is running until all of the ingredients have become emulsified. Slap a lid on it and place it on the refrigerator to chill.

Stand Blender or Food Processor Directions

Place the egg yolk, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and sugar into your blender or food processor, blend together until well combined. With the motor still running, add the oil in a very slow, thin, steady stream and blend until the dressing is thick and smooth. Unless you have one of those small 'Ninja Bullet' type counter blenders, or a small food processor, you will probably want to double the recipe to make a bigger batch as most counter blenders and food processors have such a large capacity that making a single batch is almost pointless.

Homemade Sandwich (Miracle Whip) Dressing

1 egg yolk

1 cup olive or canola oil

2 - 4 drops liquid sucralose or 4 teaspoons of zero calorie sweetener
4 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon iodized salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard or ¼ teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
pinch garlic powder

pinch of paprika

So who doesn't love them some Miracle Whip? If you or your family prefers 'Miracle Whip' style sandwich dressing (it's my favorite) then I can help you with that as well. The reality is that there is not much difference between 'mayonnaise' and 'Miracle Whip' except that 'Miracle Whip' dressing has quite a bit sweeter taste. Just follow the same directions that you would to make the mayonnaise.

Conclusion

Whether you like Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip, Making your own at home gives you control of the ingredients allowing you to customize the flavor of the mayo or dressing to fit your particular tastes and dietary needs. It is quick easy and 50 to 77% cheaper to make your own mayonnaise at home as opposed to buying it at the supermarket. Again, I would like to emphasize the cost savings of making your own condiments, mixes, and meals at home.

Remember, Women who are pregnant, families with young children or those with compromised immune systems should use pasteurized eggs when making mayonnaise from scratch.

If you are looking to find additional ways to stretch your food dollars, be sure and check out some of my other articles on the subject on our blog. And as always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook and Google+ so that you will not miss out on any of our new articles.

Additional Resources on Eating Raw Eggs

Center For Disease Control And Prevention (2011, April 7), Tips To Reduce Your Risk Of Salmonella From Eggs. Center For Disease Control And Prevention, Retrieved From http://www.cdc.gov/features/salmonellaeggs/.

U.S. Food And Drug Administration (2015, September 2), Playing It Safe With Eggs. Retrieved From http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077342.htm

Clark, Melissa, (2012, May 22), The Raw Egg Conundrum. The New York Times, Retrieved From http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/the-raw-egg-conundrum/?_r=0

Townsend, Lucy (2013, December 2), Why Are We More Scared Of Raw Eggs Then Reheated Rice? BBC News, Retrieved From http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25154046