I made homemade mayonnaise this afternoon.

[kestrel91316]

About wore my arm out whisking in the first half of the oil by hand, lol. So I threw it into the cuisinart and let it do the rest in a few seconds.

I did one-egg mayo because it's just me and I don't NEED two cups of the stuff begging me to eat it in a week. I put, for some unfathomable reason, 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt in it - well, that's what my recipe in the computer said, but I think that should be 1/2 tsp as it's VERY strong-tasting. But it made a nice tuna salad sammich for me.

One other problem is that it seems just a tad loose/runny, not as stiff as I remember from when I last made it years ago. Too much oil? Not enough oil? Any theories???

[Warpy]

1. You might try making it with 2 egg yolks

instead of whole egg. What holds the oil in suspension is lecithin, not albumen, and the yolk contains the lecithin.

Home made mayo is always runnier than the supermarket stuff. The supermarket stuff uses added pure lecithin as well as egg yolk to the point that egg yolk is barely given a polite introduction to the mixture instead of being its sole basis.

Pure lecithin can be purchased at health food stores and added to homemade mayo to give it a bit more body, but my own feeling that is if homemade mayo is runny, then it's supposed to be runny and the supermarket stuff is what is wrong.

[kestrel91316]

3. So, two egg yolks (no whites at all) instead of a whole egg?

I'll try that next time. No way I'm buying and adding lecithin. Yech. As bad as adding "dough conditioners" to my bread..........

[Warpy]

4. Lecithin is useful stuff

and I use it to grease bread pans instead of oil. I also use it to make a butter/milk/safflower oil suspension that remains spreadable in the fridge, tastes like butter, and drops the cost considerably.

But no, the few times I bother to make mayo, I just use the lecithin in the egg yolks.

[Beacool]

15. I agree.

My mother used to make it all the time when I was a child and she also used only the egg yolks. Commercially bought mayo doesn't hold a candle to homemade mayo.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. You're used to all the stabilizers

and other stuff they put in commercial mayonnaise, maybe?

But, was there a thunderstorm or any kind of rain threatening nearby? Mayonnaise won't bind properly if that's the case.

I always throw in a bit of fresh lemon juice and one whole egg, a cup and a half of olive oil and lots of raw garlic, so I end up with more of an aioli, but that's how I like it. 1-1/2 tsp of salt sounds like about 1/2 tsp too much to me.

[NashVegas]

6. I Think Fresh Lemon Juice (As Opposed to Bottled) Really Makes a Huge Difference

Ever notice that?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. Absolutely

I've been forced to use bottled juice on occasion, but I just add more garlic and it doesn't seem as offensive. If I were just making plain mayonnaise, I suspect the bottled stuff would ruin it.

I also throw in a dash of cayenne pepper. Just a smidgen. Makes a nice difference.

[kestrel91316]

8. There are some very distant thunderstorms but here in the Valley

it's just relentless hot sun.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. Then I suspect the others are right -

you probably added the oil too quickly. Although using a Cuisinart, as I do, the pace at which I add the oil doesn't seem to matter.

But, if you started with something that didn't emulsify, it's pretty hard to fix. I've just thrown it all out and started from scratch.

[kestrel91316]

11. It took 45 minutes to whisk in the first half of the oil. That's too fast?

I used my cuisinart which has a hole specifically for dripping oil in at the correct rate for the second half after my arm crapped out. The mayo is nice, don't get me wring, it's just softer than the crap in the jar, which isn't necessarily a problem, lol. It's nicely emulsified - it didn't "break".

[Tangerine LaBamba]

12. 45 minutes?

Man, you've got a pitching arm. Have the major leagues called you yet?

The recipe that's never failed me is the original whole egg mayonnaise one in a very old - forty years - "Joy Of Cooking." I just use the Cuisinart instead of doing it by hand. i think they recommend a blender, which I've also used, but which requires much more scraping down.

Was the egg cold? I always leave my mayonnaise eggs out for 24 hours before I use them.

Sounds like your mayonnaise is just perfect. Maybe we're all brainwashed by the jarred stuff? Although I must admit to a secret passion for Miracle Whip. Go figure...............

[kestrel91316]

13. My arm still hurts and it's been two days, lol. Aggravated the back/neck.

I'm gonna use the cuisinart for the entire process from now on. That's why it has that tiny hole in it - for the oil.

The mayo is fine. Just softer than the fake stuff from the store.

[lizerdbits]

5. How fast did you add the oil?

Mine is always pretty thick as long as the oil isn't added to quickly. I also used the mini food processor to avoid the arm pain. I've used 1 or 2 egg yolk recipes with the same results, but never used whites.

The recipes I've used also hold off on half the acid (lemon juice or vinegar or a combo) until half the oil is added. I've never tried adding it all at the beginning so I don't know if that would make a difference.

[kestrel91316]

7. I think less salt, more cuisinart, and yep maybe hold off on

part of the acid til halfway (and lemon juice rather than cider vinegar) is the way to go next time. It was too salty.

I used a handy plastic dropper bottle from the clinic to drip the oil in literally a drop at a time while whisking. At 45 minutes I was only half done and said "ENOUGH!". That's where the cuisinart came in handy.

It has a tiny hole to drip it in at the right rate

[mopinko]

14. i use my mixer with the whisk

used to make it in a fancy scmansy restaurant, and it was every bit as stiff as the crap in the jar. made 5 gallons at a time in a big hobart mixer.
whip those eggs up first.
i like mine tart, and use lots of good mustard. fresh lemons do make a big diff, too.
have to confess i haven't made it at home for a while.