Thursday, June 7, 2007

Who's afraid of home-made mayo?

I read an article in this month's Martha Stewart magazine about how easy and wonderful home-made mayonnaise can be. Oh, mayonnaise: there's the mayo that went on top of the french fries in Amsterdam (somewhat unthinkable but immensely edible); then there is the Japanese Cutepie mayonnaise which (guiltily I must admit) is delicious with spam and rice. It also made me think of the decadent potato salad we make in the summer, for which home-made mayo is a must.

But then Martha goes on to give a recipe that uses egg yolk, vinegar, and olive oil. Olive oil? Ack. I think not.

Martha's tip said that mayonnaise is more difficult to make on a hot day. True?

In her magazine Martha uses a Kitchenaid mixer to make the mayonnaise, a luxury -- or perhaps unnecessary because I recall wooyi and cousin wawa whisking mayonnaise with a couple of chopsticks in a big bowl.

What's our family's mayo recipe?

8 comments:

amychien said...

Sounds yummy! Can't wait to try it.

Unknown said...

More difficlut in hot day ?
We don't use to have hot potato salad in winter days.
I think almost everyone in our family can make our home-made yolk mayo. I'm sure you'll get different answers how to make yolk and oil mix perfectly to ensure you don't have to turn out to fry S-s-super greasy scramble egg.

I don't think I'd like to try in olive oil.

And yes, chopsticks is the easiest and handy tool I used. You may use more than two sticks if you are so impatient.

Uncle#4 and I talked about making our home-made mayo several times. May be we'll do it this weekend for next Tuesday's Dragon Festivel.

Ask Runaway cook, he or she may have the recipe, if i guess right.

runaway cook said...

Hahaa...who is runaway cook? Una is right again this time.

Tips for home make mayo, in my opinion, are
1. bowl, chopsticks, spoon must be clean, dry.
2. our purpose is to cooperate york and oil together. So don't add too much oil per time. At the first several times (maybe 10 times), add 1 tea spoon per time.
3. York and oil must be mixed well before pouring next run of oil.
4. I also don't think oliver oil is good idea.
4. As to seasoning, wooyi and uncle4 are experts. But I prefer them to keep it secret and we each try our own. Then, we can have surprise when we come back Taiwan.

eugenia said...

But at least tell me, do all of you use vinegar (rice vinegar) and not apple cider vinegar or lemon juice?

Unknown said...

some tips:
my recipe: one yolk goes with 80% full of rice bowl oil.
1.break the yolk and stir to even for few seconds.
2.add several drops of oil in the beginning, blend, check oil and yolk are perfectly together. add more if you are confident with your initial work.
3.uncle#3 said you should stir in the same direction from the beginning to the end. But I only follow it in the beginning.
4.my standard for a successful work should look like you can hold it with chopsticks and the bottom of bowl looked clean.
5.vinegar is a must( or acid is the must, i think), you may have to think and try which one is your favorite. Or perhaps you can seprate your mayo to test different seasonings and record them.
6.For me shrimp is the best to be the ' must '.
7.question for you: what if you find the oil and yolk are not perfectly together, looked greasy and thin?

Happy cooking,

Unknown said...

I remember a Japanese TV program which combined touring and cooking during visiting to Spain, if I remember right. In the program the TV star was assigned to learn to make mayo from the family she visited. Yes, they use olive oil. Well, the first time she tried and fell the grandma who taught her to make was not so happy with her, almost got angry and the TV hostess was about to shed tears.

That's why I ask the question if it gets failed. The answer would be a secret but i'm sure you and Amy should be able to figure it out.

eugenia said...

I think if the yolk starts to break with the vinegar, just put the whole thing in the blender or food processor and give it a whirl! Not sure what to do if by hand, though. I am guessing adding another egg yolk and whisk until it is not running any more, but wouldn't that make a lot more mayo?

I also read somewhere that if the yolk, oil, and vinegar are all room temperature, there is less chance that the mayonnaise will separate.

runaway cook said...

If york and oil don't coorperate together, I MAY, as experiment, use it as oil and slowly add to the new york. But in reality, throwing it away is the easiest way. Just start over with fresh egg york and oil.