Mayonaise homemade from real eggs

When putting together my purslane potato salad last night, I ran out of mayo. Hubby offered to zip out to the store and pick up a bottle, but to use store bought mayonnaise would have canceled out the nutritional benefit of the omega 3 containing purslane!

Let me explain.  Mayonnaise is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice. Most brands of store bought mayonnaise use soybean oil and who knows where the heck their eggs are coming from.  These two ingredients are ones you don’t want to skimp on.  Most soybean oil in the US is genetically modified, not to mention soybean oil is high in pro-inflammatory Omega 6. My gut tells me that the company that makes Hellman’s mayonnaise is not going to go out of their way to get really high quality eggs for their mayo.

More expensive brands of mayonnaise found at the health food store, such as Spectrum are a little bit better, but most of them also contain organic soybean oil, which is an improvement but still not ideal. I’m also not a huge fan of canola oil . Despite the hype that canola oil is high in Omega 3 fats, the highly processed nature of this oil is questionable. The procedure involves a combination of high-temperature mechanical pressing and solvent extract, usually using hexane. Even after considerable refining, traces of the solvent remain. Like most vegetable oils, Canola oil also goes through the process of bleaching, degumming, deodorizing, and caustic refining, at very high temperatures. This process can alter the omega-3 content in the oil, and in certain conditions bring the trans fat level as high as 40 percent. Some brands such as Spectrum offer an expeller pressed canola oil, but once again, you’re going to want to take it a step further and look for Organic 100% expeller pressed canola oil to be sure you’re not ingesting genetically modified canola.

Sounds like a wild goose chase, huh? So this is how I came to the conclusion that I’d be better off making my own darn mayonnaise!  With a Kitchen aid mixer, the process is not all that complicated. This way I know exactly what ingredients are going in my mayo. Eggs I trust from a local farmer, organic olive oil from a good source and fresh squeezed lemon juice, what could be easier?

Lately, I’ve been buying eggs at my local farmer’s market from Feather Ridge Farm. Its worth the extra pennies to invest in eggs that come from happy chickens who are not fed antibiotics and hormones. These eggs are high in Omega 3 because the chickens were fed flaxseed and alfalfa.  You can tell the difference when you crack the egg: supermarket eggs have thinner shells and paler yolks.

Here’s my mayo recipe, try it out! Its easier than you think!

Ingredients:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups olive oil
• 4 teaspoons hot water

Procedure:

1. Beat yolks,salt, mustard, sugar, pepper  and 1 teaspoon lemon juice  until very thick and pale yellow. (Note: I used the wire whisk attachment on my KItchen Aid electric mixer at medium speed.)

2. Add about 1/4 cup oil drop by drop, beating vigorously all the while. Beat in 1 teaspoon each lemon juice and hot water. Add another 1/4 cup oil a few drops at a time, beating vigorously all the while. Beat in another teaspoon each lemon juice and water. Add 1/2 cup oil in a very fine steady stream, beating constantly, then mix in remaining lemon juice and water; slowly beat in remaining oil.  Cover and refrigerate until needed. Do not keep longer than 1 week.

Note: Making mayonnaise results in leftover egg whites. This can only mean one thing: time to make meringue cookies! Stay tuned for the recipe.