Mayonnaise from Scratch

Mayonnaise seems to be one of those things people either love or hate. Well in my house, it's a must-have condiment. My son will eat just about any food if you give him some mayo and ketchup to dip it in. For as often as we use it, it only makes natural sense to make it myself, especially when you look at the ingredient list on most store bought brands. For instance, did you know MSG is often put under the label "natural flavor" on commercial food ingredient lists. Try and find a mayonnaise that doesn't include natural flavors or for that matter uses an oil that is actually healthy for you. The health food store and co-ops tend to have better options for mayonnaise than the regular store, however personally I haven't found a "healthy" mayonnaise at the store that I like.

Mayonnaise is essentially the oil of your choice and eggs whipped together. Food for thought – your condiments can actually add extra nutrition to your food, so choose wisely when selecting the type of oil you want to use. We all know that not all oils are the same nutritionally, however did you know that some oils can be quite harmful to our bodies?

For the mayonnaise recipe that is included in Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon uses olive oil or expeller pressed sunflower oil. "Olive Oil contains 75 percent oleic acid, the stable monounsaturated fat, along with 12 percent saturated fat, 10 percent omega-6 linoleic acid and 2 percent omega-3 linolenic acid. The high percentage of oleic acid makes olive oil ideal for salads and for cooking at moderate temperatures. Extra virgin olive oil is also rich in antioxidants. It should be cloudy, indicating that is has been filtered, and have a golden yellow color, indicating that it is made from fully ripened olives. Olive oil has withstood the test of time; it is the safest vegetable oil you can use, but don't overdo. The longer-chain fatty acids found in olive oil are more likely to contribute to the buildup of body fat than the short- and medium-chain fatty acids found in butter and coconut oil."

One ingredient that's not standard in mayonnaise, but you'll see it below is whey. I had never thought of adding whey to my mayo, until seeing the recipe in Nourishing Traditions. "Homemade mayonnaise imparts valuable enzymes, particularly lipase, to sandwiches, tuna salad, chicken salads and many other dishes and is very easy to make in a food processor. The addition of whey will help your mayonnaise last longer, adds enzymes and increases nutrient content." When you use whey in your mayonnaise, you leave the mayonnaise out on the counter for 7 hours before refrigerating it. I know what you are thinking, and no, you won't get sick when you do this. :-) I know it's always strange to think about leaving raw ingredients like eggs out on the counter for any length of time. I can tell you I've done this quite a few times now and we haven't gotten sick yet! When you add whey to your mayonnaise it will lengthen the time it will last before going bad from a week or two to several months in the fridge.





What You'll Need: Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2 whole eggs or just the egg yolks at room temperature
• 1/2 Tsp. mustard powder or 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared Dijon mustard
• 1-1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice or white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. whey - optional
• 3/4 - 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 Tsp. of salt and more to taste if needed

Note: You can be rather flexible with all the ingredients. The more oil you add the thicker the mayonnaise will be. If you would rather stay away from raw egg whites, omit them and just use the yolks.



Getting Started

 1. In your food processor blend together the egg, mustard, lemon juice or vinegar, whey and salt.
Process for about 30 seconds.






2. With the food processor running add your oil in the thinnest stream possible or a drop at a time. This takes some patience, but the slower you add the oil the thicker and nicer the end consistency will be.


3. Place your mayonnaise in a jar and refrigerate for 1-2 weeks. If you used the whey, leave the jar of mayonnaise on your counter for seven hours before placing in the refrigerator. It will last for 1-2 months.

Enjoy!