Easy, Gluten free, Nut free, Refined sugar free, Staples, Wheat free

Mild and creamy homemade mayonnaise

April 9, 2020 / 36 Comments

Homemade mayonnaise – a great fridge staple, naturally

Until recently, we were buying mayonnaise at the shops, like most people I know. But have you looked at the label to see what is actually in the mayonnaise you buy? To be fair, not all mayos are created equal.

Some contain mostly natural ingredients, while others include thickeners, artificial colours, preservatives, antioxidants and other additives. You may not eat much mayonnaise or you may not particularly care – but we try to avoid additives where possible as these things all add up.

Either way, I think homemade mayonnaise has a superior taste. You put in exactly what you like, you whip it exactly how you like it. It lasts in the fridge for at least a week, maybe a week and a half, and it’s fabulous, for example:

with fish and sweet potato chips
with fritters (like these zucchini and corn fritters)
with any savoury pies (like this bacon and egg pie perhaps)
as a dip with chicken wings
for your sandwiches, sausages and burgers
for salads, like egg salad or potato salad
or even when you’re making a cake! Have you tried a chocolate mayonnaise cake before? If not, you’re in for a real treat!

What do you like to eat mayonnaise with?

What ingredients do you need to make mayonnaise at home?

Not many, I promise. I know we’re all going to the shops a bit less often these days and some ingredients are not available. I hope you either have all of these at home already, or you can still get them easily on your weekly shop.

eggs: you will need three yolks for this recipe. I make meringues with the leftover egg whites, refined sugar-free friands (recipe coming soon!) or macarons. Any further ideas would be appreciated, since I make this mayo a lot!
mustard: as I said above, I use mild American mustard in this recipe because that’s what our family likes. We have tried dijon but it was too strong a taste for our five year olds (not that they eat much mayonnaise but they are very opinionated). The mild mustard makes the mayonnaise taste, surprise surprise, milder.
apple cider vinegar and lemon juice: I use both to give the mayonnaise a shot of acidity. I prefer the milder taste of apple cider vinegar over other vinegars, like red wine vinegar. I like organic apple cider vinegar with the mother, but whatever kind you have should work. I’ve tried using red wine vinegar but think that, depending on brand and age, it has the potential to “take over” the taste of the mayonnaise – which is not really what I’m after. Red wine vinegar will also taint the colour of the mayonnaise slightly, if that’s something you care about.
salt: a pinch of good quality sea salt flakes is all this mayonnaise needs. I use Maldon but any good salt will do.
oil: I use sunflower oil, due to its mild taste (again, you don’t want to overpower the taste of the ultimate product). I have used olive oil before but felt the taste was too strong. That said, if olive oil is all you have, go for it! Also feel free to use any other mild tasting oil you have, for example, macadamia oil would be great. I would stick to cold pressed oils as the method of oil extraction preserves the nutritional value of the fruit, nuts or seeds from which they are obtained.

5 from 4 votes