If you are the winner of our giveaway of the lovely Stella Maris print from Jubilate Designs, an email has made its way to you! If you are wishing you had won, here's your chance! Jamaica is running a sale through Monday, Aug. 17th. All prints are 20% off and the Stella Maris is restocked!
In other news, I finally decided to stop dabbling in making mayonnaise, on and off over the years, and finally commit. I probably shouldn't have chosen a week when Deirdre and her family were gone to make a double batch, but I have found that it keeps in the fridge very nicely, so it's okay.
The main thing is to know what ingredients are going in there. Since even the olive oil version of the nicer mayo has soy oil, and I am not made of money, I'm getting serious. Using my trusty immersion blender* and a wide-mouth quart jar makes it all super easy and low-clean-up.
*Mine is really old and seemingly not available anymore in its exact model, so you are on your own. I think the advice to get one with a cord still applies (unless you can tell me otherwise) — the battery-powered ones are just not strong enough. Yeah, the cord is annoying. *Edited to say that my old one needed to be replaced and I got this one (affiliate link). It is powerful enough, but I don't love the shape of the business end, the way I did love the old one, specifically for making mayonnaise, where the blender has to whip up the egg yolk before pulling in the oil. Sigh.
I'm using the recipe from my Fannie Farmer Cookbook — doubled, be forewarned — but it's basically as follows, for about a quart of delicious and stable mayo (but it calls for boiling water to be added at the end and I leave that out — one Tbsp, two in the doubled one here if you want to know)*
*And here we have a good example of why I'm not sure that anyone should follow my recipes, but I feel compelled to give them anyway
Mayonnaise
2 whole eggs (if you are using a food processor, the recipe calls for 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks — remember, this recipe is doubled)
3 Tbsp cider vinegar (this vinegar has a higher acidity than wine or rice vinegar; the final product tastes like it should in your mind)
1/2 tsp salt (don't be stingy though)
1 tsp dry mustard or 2 tsp dijon mustard (next up, making my own dijon mustard)
2 cups oil (I prefer to use peanut oil; the time I used extra-virgin olive oil, I didn't actually like the taste, and I'm not sure other oils are stable enough)
Put the first 4 ingredients in the jar with 1/2 cup of the oil. Blend and then begin adding the rest of the oil slowly. I'm far too hasty to do the “one teaspoon at a time” thing and it's fine.
If the oil starts collecting on top, pause your adding and work the blender up and down within the nascent mayo until it is incorporated, then continue.* As you get to the end of the oil this will actually happen, but do as I say and add it all without losing your nerve — the oil is what gives the mayo its body so you can spread it and work it into slaw and so on.
*Immersion blender pro-tip: Always keep it immersed. If you lift it up out of what you are blending, it will spew oily things everywhere!
I tend to err on the side of a little more salt, vinegar, and mustard. And that is it!
*Edited to say: I found out how to make this mayo stay fresh without worrying about pasteurizing the egg yolk. Yes, I did try! I think the effort takes this from an easy substitute for store-bought to a total not-worth-it pain. Lots of warnings out there for homemade mayo, telling us that it doesn't keep.
BUT — it's easy to make it safe: just add a teaspoon or two of some liquid from anything you have fermented around (including already fermented items stored in the fridge: sauerkraut, fermented garlic — which is what I use, pickles, whatever). As long as it has a live culture, you're good. Read about it at length here.
Just mix it up with the mayo and leave your jar out on the counter for a few hours. Don't worry; the acidity plus the fermentation will keep it safe, and in a few hours the whole thing will be fermented and keep well in your fridge, as long as you don't contaminate it with a less-than-perfectly-clean spreader or spoon or other stray thing you stick in there.
bits & pieces
- This writer is edgy but she gets her point across! “Perhaps some fresh madness will take its place, but still: the future will arrive. Your future… Which is why you need to have a baby. Or have another one. Start tonight!”
- An interesting explanation of why in the ancient rite, the Gospel is moved to the north side of the altar (not a matter of “right and left”). These observations resonate with then-Cardinal Ratzinger's explanation of why the celebrant ought to face East (or “liturgical East”) for the Mass (not “towards God” or “towards the Tabernacle” per se) — an explanation that is bolstered by a passage from a homily by Origen that is in the Divine Office readings.
- It's still hot! Make your own backyard water park! (I doubt the water blob would really work, but if you succeed, let me know!)
from the archives
- IMPORTANT PANDEMIC INFORMATION: If you can't host a real baby shower for your dear friend or sister or daughter, due to you-know-what, do a virtual one! Deirdre orchestrated one for Rosie when she was far from us, and Rosie posted about it: Showered from Afar
- I've gotten a fair amount of messages about “what the normal homeschool day looks like” — thought I'd pop this post in here: Five quick answers about homeschooling from my friend Therese
liturgical year
It's the glorious feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary!
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Terri says
Good morning, Leila–
Happy Solemnity! Thanks for the encouragement to make homemade mayo. Have you ever used avocado oil to make it? If so, how did it turn out? Like you, I’m not a fan of olive oil mayonnaise, but I find avocado oil’s flavor to be very mild and I use it in most recipes. I’ve never tried it for mayo though. Thanks!
Leila says
Try it! Just do 1/2 the recipe and see how it turns out! I bet it will be good.
Logan says
I love the avocado oil in mayo, I think it comes out really well, very neutral tasting!
Terri says
Oh good–thank you! I was going to try it anyway since Auntie Leila told me to, but I’m glad to have your assurance as well. 🙂
Christine says
What about the danger of sickness from eating raw eggs?
Any oil suggestions for those with nut allergies?
Thank you
Leila says
According to the USDA, “homemade mayonnaise can be safely made if raw, in-shell pasteurized eggs or pasteurized egg products are used.” I can wash my own home-grown eggs carefully and avoid this problem.” Here is an interesting post that goes through all the studies and ends up with some interesting recommendations for raw eggs, including using only yolks in mayo to make it more nutritionally available. I might try it next time! https://www.orangegroveroad.com/things-you-need-to-know-homemade-mayonnaise/
As to the oil, I have also used regular (non-EVOO) olive oil to good effect. I just usually need it for cooking…
Mrs. Bee says
Since you say you want to try to make your own Dijon mustard, I have a suggestion. Not about *making* it – I wouldn’t know how, plus… I hate mustard, all kinds of it! But my husband loves it, and while he’s not fussy but I am a food snob, I recently splurged on a little jar of French mustard that had herbes de Provence mixed in. I don’t know anything about mustard, but it struck me that it should be a very happy combination. And apparently it is, since now my husband says he’s going to have a hard time eating any other kind of mustard… Since, like you, I’m not made of money, I will try to add the HdeP to a good Dijon mustard, and see if I can produce the same flavor, but in a cheaper way!
The brand was Clovis, by the way, and they also make a Tarragon French Mustard – which to me also sounds quite good. But I would still not try it 🙂
sibyl says
That Keenan article was sassy, and so good! I hope many people will read it and make the attempt. Culture of life, baby!
By the way, it reminds me of the VERY FIRST EVER article of yours, Auntie Leila, that I ever read — it was the one about things that are worse than being in debt. And you mention avoiding having another baby. That was so true. It made me love your blog from the very beginning.
Ten years ago my husband was out of work, and while he wasn’t that worried about avoiding a baby, I was. Well, that was the last of my fertility, and although we tried (vigorously!) to have more children as soon as he had a job, it never happened. Boy do we regret that supposed prudence now.
Keep speaking the truth in your own way — you’ve helped a lot of people, me especially.
Andrea says
Could you please include recipe for the Instagram pound cake in the next “Bits and Pieces” for those who can’t figure out how to pause Instagram Stories. Many thanks.
Lisa G. says
So, Leila, you didn’t ferment your mayo because your own eggs (your own chickens’ eggs!) are in there? Otherwise, would you?
Mignon says
I like it with lemon juice and canola oil. On the lemony side! But the immersion blender is very clever, Leila! I will have to try that!
Diana Johnston says
Loved the Keenan article! Wow, what a writer, and what truths!! Thanks for the links!
Like another commenter above, I too remember your article on “There are worse things than debt,” and it had a big effect on me. Many thanks, always, for all the good you have done through this blog.
Anamaria says
I’ve made this and her grainy mustard before! Easy and good. https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/homemade-dijon-mustard/