Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

How To Make Mayo at Home as a Salad Dressing or Sandwich Spread

Lauren Paige Richeson
By

No condiment causes more conversation than mayonnaise. Whether you love it or loathe it no matter how you spread it, this egg-based sauce is a polarizing topic.

From sandwich spread royalty to a shapeshifting dip to the quintessential salad dressing base, mayonnaise’s culinary lifeline beats strong throughout many of the foods we enjoy every day.

Related Videos

So what makes mayo so magical? And what is the secret ingredient to its long-lasting appeal?

To help take the mysticism out of mayo, we spoke with classically trained Chef Jen Kim, from Ferrandi Paris to get her insider advice on the great dressing debate.

Related

The Making of Mayonnaise

Considered one of the Mother sauces of French cuisine, the first mayonnaise recipe rose to popularity in 18th-century French cookbooks but the simple combination of emulsified sauces has a history dating back to 14th-century Spain.

Through the ages, the simple combination of oil, egg yolk, and acid has stayed the same but with the addition of herbs and spices, the blend has become a base from many other sauces like remoulades and aiolis which have helped spread its fame across continents and cuisines.

Like many Americans, Kim describes her memories of mayonnaise in a similar sentiment that many of us share and notes some significant differences between the bottled version we are accustomed to versus the original French version in its purest form.

“As a child, I remember mayonnaise being this lumpy beige gross mass that came in large plastic jars that lasted for ages.” “The French mother sauce is an emulsion of egg and oil flavored with Dijon mustard and acid of some sort (such as lemon juice or vinegar) and tends to taste better in France because it’s made fresh, and uses a higher quality of eggs than in American mayonnaise.”

Mainstream Mayo

Regardless of the sauce’s stigma, one glimpse down the grocery aisle proves that mayo is more popular than ever. The shelves are packed with different labels, flavors, and versions to fit every tastebud, lifestyle, and recipe.

While most bottle brands make slight variations to the mayo manuscript, brands like Miracle Whip include sugar and spices placing it “on the more interesting end of the American Mayo spectrum,”  Kim. says

Another popular variation, Kewpie, is a Japanese mayonnaise, made from egg yolks with the addition of rice-wine vinegar, which gives it a unique eggy, umami flavor and is the one store-bought brand Kim says she must have on hand at all times.

The Best Mayonnaise Ever

Even with so many premade options to dip into, for Kim, the best mayo is always your own.

“Homemade mayonnaise and store-bought mayonnaise are two distinct things, in my opinion, and cannot, and one should not, compare them.”

Making your own mayonnaise is effortless and gives you all the pure flavor and richness without any additives. Whipping up your own blend could be the key to bringing even the biggest mayo foe over to the correct condiment side.

“Mayonnaise is a great way to add luxury and richness. You can modify it based on what you’re cooking, and it’s a versatile base for flavorings. I love to add cilantro, lime, and gochujang (a Korean chili paste) to make a dip for artichokes or crudite’s.”

With just a few steps, Kim gives us her recipe for making the perfect mayonnaise at home.

“You don’t need an immersion blender or special equipment. You simply need a whisk, some oil, an egg (plus a few other ingredients), and a sense of possibility.”

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh high-quality egg yolk at room temperature
  • Around 3/4 cup grapeseed oil (or any other neutral oil)
  • 2-3 tablespoons high-quality olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 lemon or apple cider vinegar
  • Mixing bowl
  • Jar to store
  • Whisk
  • Dishtowel

Method

  1. Separate egg yolk and place into the mixing bowl. Set the mixing bowl on top of a dishtowel to provide stability to the bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Whisk to incorporate.
  2. Then, gradually add the neutral oil to the eggs while whisking to incorporate. Start with a very small amount (like a teaspoon at a time) at a time until the sauce begins to emulsify.
  3. Once the sauce begins to emulsify, you can gradually add more oil while whisking vigorously. The sauce will thicken the more oil you add and the more you whisk. One egg yolk will hold around 3/4 cup to 1 cup of oil. Be careful not to add too much oil or the sauce will break.
  4. The final texture of the mayonnaise should resemble that of a pudding. When the mayonnaise is nearly the texture that you want, add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil at the end for flavor.
  5. Once the texture of mayonnaise is to your liking, stop adding oil, and add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar), salt, and pepper to taste.
  6. Store the mayonnaise in a jar in the fridge for up to five days.

Mix-ins for your mayonnaise

  • Any herbs you like or have on hand like Harissa, chili flakes, chili powder, or any spices for heat and depth of flavor
  • Citrus juices, zest, interesting vinegar for acid
  • Seeds, finely chopped alliums, or finely chopped pickles for texture

Tips

If the mayonnaise breaks (or the oil separates from the yolks and the sauce isn’t smooth), don’t worry; that means the oil and the egg yolk didn’t combine thoroughly. Grab another egg yolk and a fresh bowl, and slowly drizzle in the broken mayo to re-emulsify. Note – if you add another egg yolk, you’ll need to add more oil.”

Sign up for Jen Kim’s monthly newsletter and visit her on IG: @ledinnerparty

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Is erythritol harmful? What a dietitian says new data means for your Keto diet
Erythritol is common in many keto foods - what does that mean for your health?
erythritol in keto diet advice

While sugar substitutes have been around for more than a century, they didn't really become mainstream here in the United States until around the mid-70s. According to Carolyn De La Pena, professor of American Studies at UC Davis and author of Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda, between 1975 and 1984, Americans increased their consumption of artificial sweeteners by 150 percent. This timeline makes sense when you take into account that the late seventies coincided with the start of our crazed diet culture and the revolving door of fad diets.
One such diet that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, however, is the Keto diet. Still hugely popular among Americans trying to shed a few pounds, Keto focuses heavily on limited or no carbohydrates. Because sugar contains carbohydrates, followers of Keto have turned to artificial sweeteners to satisfy those late-night cravings - sweeteners that, more often than not, contain erythritol. Erythritol in particular has become hugely popular because it's much better for baking than other sugar substitutes, has less of an artificial flavor, and will keep the eater in Ketosis, which is key for losing weight on the Keto diet.
A new study has made waves recently because its findings indicate there's a link between erythritol and higher rates of heart attack and stroke (though the study did note that only an association was found — not causation. So should you be worried?
We asked Dan LeMoine, RD, the award-winning author of Fear No Food and the Clinical Director at Phoenix-based Re:vitalize Nutrition, what he had to say about erythritol, including its benefits and potential health risks. "Artificial sweeteners are still sweeteners. While many are non-nutritive or zero-calorie, we tend to view them similarly as we do regular sweeteners or sugars — moderation is key. While many have amazing implications on weight loss – being low to no-calorie options and having little impact on blood sugar, some have their downside," he says.

While some of that sugar substitution has been good for waistlines and health issues that come from obesity, it seems to be causing more and more concern when it comes to other potential health issues. "For example," says LeMoine, "some research indicates the popular sweeteners stevia may have negative effects on the gut microbiome. And the recent study showing correlation between the sugar alcohol, erythritol, and heart attack and stroke."

Read more
Feeling adventurous? 5 of the weirdest cocktails from around the globe
Would you order a cocktail with a pickled human toe? You can in Canada, apparently
unusual and unique cocktails sourtoe cocktail

We all love a good cocktail, but it's easy to tire of the classics. There's nothing wrong with a perfectly frosty, salted-rimmed margarita, or a warm-to-your-bones, cherry-topped old-fashioned, but sometimes, you just want something new. Something that makes you think. Something that, perhaps, gives you a chuckle. These are those cocktails.
Pig's Blood Piña Colada (USA)

Back in 2014, bartender Jason Brown of Chicago's Kinmont restaurant and bar, concocted this cocktail after listening to a Werewolves of London lyric about a werewolf drinking a pina colada. His creativity sparked, and the "Werewolves of London" cocktail was born.

Read more
These foods high in melatonin will help you sleep better
Get a better sleep naturally by eating these 9 melatonin foods
Hands holding wine grapes.

Getting a quality night's sleep becomes more and more of a challenge as we age. Some of us have tried blackout curtains, sleep masks, weighted blankets, or any number of supplements promising better rest. If you're looking for an all-natural solution, though, melatonin is the way to go. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland in the brain. Among several functions, melatonin plays a key role in regulating the body’s circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycles. Accordingly, the pineal gland produces more melatonin when the sun goes down, and levels dip at daybreak. Foods high in melatonin or even melatonin supplements are a popular way to increase the concentration of melatonin and possibly improve the quality and quantity of sleep.
Melatonin supplements are typically non-habit-forming and safe for adults and children in doses of around 0.5 to 5 milligrams. However, melatonin supplements may cause drowsiness, nausea, and dizziness, and they can interfere with certain medications.

Fortunately, if you’re looking to support your body’s own natural melatonin levels but you don’t want to rely on supplements, there are several sleep-aid foods that contain melatonin. Adding any of these foods high in melatonin to your dinner plate or bedtime snack routine may help regulate your sleep patterns over time and help you get more restful sleep. Though little nutritional data exists about the specific concentration of melatonin in different foods, the following foods are known to be particularly high in melatonin.

Read more