Thursday, June 6, 2013

Homemade (Mayo) with Love

This garlic and basil mayonnaise recipe was inspired by my friend Jennifer Perillo's fabulous new cookbook, Homemade with Love. As a longtime admirer of In Jennie's Kitchen, I expected her cookbook to be filled amazing recipes and gorgeous pictures, and it certainly was, but what I didn’t expect was to see my name and this blog mentioned on page 229!

That’s right, on Jennifer’s homemade mayonnaise recipe, we were credited with the always-impressive immersion blender method seen herein. She even called me a genius, which is obviously a very, very slight exaggeration. I feel kind of guilty since I didn’t invent this technique, but since I don’t remember who showed me, it’s just going to be easier to take credit.

Jennifer and I have very similar tastes, and if you like my videos I’m fairly sure you’ll love this book. I really enjoy when a cookbook author shares little stories and anecdotes to introduce the recipes, and she’s done that throughout. 

To understand where a recipe comes from, and why it’s being shared, always makes it more fun to cook and savor. That’s why I talk so much during my videos. Anyway, for more info, follow this link to Amazon where Homemade with Love is enjoying rave reviews. Enjoy!



Ingredients for 1 1/2 cups Garlic and Basil Mayonnaise:
(will last about 3-5 days)
1 cup basil leaves
3 cloves finely minced garlic
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
cayenne and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil or a lighter tasting olive oil (or a combination of the two)
*For regular plain mayo, I generally recommend a neutral tasting vegetable oil like canola. 

View the complete recipe

60 comments:

Chibby said...

Aww man,why'd you cave to the egg Nazis?Those people are no fun:(

Ivor the Engine Driver said...

If I can recall correctly I believe you said you wouldn't sing 'maaayoo' anymore.

And by that I mean I watched the other video this morning...That's how I remember.

Unknown said...

Got any recommendations as for the oil chef?

.. said...

Chef John, I was wondering if you know a good recipe for a vegetarian mayonnaise? I would be so thankful.

Ella

Anonymous said...

╰ ☆ ╮ Egg Nazis? I think he caved to the ego Nazis with that post. (And your comments like yours are no fun.) ╰ ☆ ╮

Chef John said...

I'm sure there are egg substitutes, but I've never used!

No specific oil recs other than lighter works better than something overly intense and peppery.

Unknown said...

Conflicting info online re: shelf life. Commercial mayo I keep for ~1 month and it doesn't have preservatives. Wouldn't it just be the shelf-life of the eggs involved?

edward said...

For anyone without a stick blender you can make mayo with a whisk then add the finely chopped other ingredients. Just a heads up, I'd love a stick blender but have been traveling for a couple years and customs always thinks the stick blender is a weapon.

Yola said...

May I know how long time the mayo can store in the fridge? Many thanks!

Clarmindcontrol said...

3-5 days in the fridge, Yola (as mentioned above the ingredients)

Pattaya Lover said...

I have been making homemade mayo for some time now using my food processor, but today I tried your stick blender technique with the recipe I've been using (1 whole egg, 2 tsp mustard, 1 Tlb vinegar, 1 cup oil, salt, pepper). It worked perfectly and there was much less to clean up!

Christoph said...

Ooops, although I stuck to your technique, I screwed this one :O Well, I guess to only take half of the ingredients does not work for this recipes :/

Unknown said...

You liar! I just spet je last two hours in my kitchen waisting perfectly fine eggs, I tried it twice, had to go to the store to get an extra lemon, triple-checked and followed every step and measurement exactly and I still ended up with some weird yellowish, liquid goop. Clearly bringing the blender up through the oil is not the only way to screw this up, the second time I kept it at the bottom the entire time, afraid to fail again. I really wanted to prove my mom wrong and show it's not incredibly hard to make your own mayo, and now all I have is a lot of wasted ingerdiƫnts and a family dinner that is very late. What did I do wrong?! :(

Chef John said...

Yes! Half works!

JustATomato said...

Perfect timing! The boyfriend just got me a stick blender (he does love me), so I had to show him this video and your ringing endorsement even though he doesn't eat mayo. No more obnoxious cleanup, hooray!

P.S. I think Luvyuyu means "vegan"...

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef John!
I love your videos! They are so awesome! Just to ask, if I don't have dijon mustard on hand, what can I substitute it with? (a different kind of spice or herb?) Thank you!

TomMy is OnLinE said...

Chef John, is the Mustard really necessary? because I don't have some..

Thank You!!

TomMy is OnLinE said...

Hi Chef John, I want to know if the mustard really necessary or not because I don't have some. I heard you say it acts as an emulsifier. I am afraid that if i don't use it the recipe won't work.

Thanks.

Chef John said...

Should work without! There is no sub for mustard , so just leave out

Chef John said...

Should work without! There is no sub for mustard , so just leave out

Jia Ling Chan said...

how long can the mayo last in the fridge, chef john?

Chef John said...

Maybe 3-5 days (it's in the ingredient list)

Unknown said...

Tried out the recipe (2 tbsp's of lemon juice, no vinegar), and something odd happened. First the liquid did emulsify, but it didn't thicken up. I tried adding a splash of vinegar after which it became thick like mayo.

Unknown said...

I tried out the recipe (2 tbsp's lemon juice, no vinegar), and something odd happened. The liquid did emulsify, but it stayed very liquid. I tried adding a splash of vinegar, after which it thickened up.

Anonymous said...

I've been using this method for years. However, a friend of mine told me she makes mayo out of a whole egg, placing the vertical blender 'cup' over the yolk. I tried it and it works even better. Any thoughts on whole egg mayo?

Unknown said...

Chef John, I love your videos. But this one I believe is wrong. I used the exact measuring cup in your video, followed recipe exactly and did the pulses exactly to blend and it never thickened up to mayo consistency. I was actually upset about it. Please review your video and tell us why me and other people on this post are ending up with liquid per your recipe! Thanks John

Chef John said...

Sorry, but there is nothing to review and fix! This has never not worked for me as shown. Btw, i didn't invent this, as it's a classic proportion of ing. for this method.

btw, I don't edit any mistakes. What you saw is what I got and always get. I have no clue why (for a small percentage) this doesn't work. I would have to watch you to know.

Estoy_Listo said...

It worked for me. Took a little longer then it did in the video, but it came out great. I used dill instead of basil, and used it to dress grilled sockeye salmon.

Perfect

Unknown said...

I had the problem of liquidify :-( after 4 tries I find out that my stick blender have too small blades, even after I see mayo forming on the bottom, I had to pulse more and hold the blender for more time and go up less tha an inch, i felt when the blades were not "mixing" anymore, just rotating, so I go up a tiny bit up, finally it worked.

Later I tried the same, only this time, reduce the oil to 1 cup it was easier.

Any toughts on this cheff? Thanks for all the help and the great recipes :-)

vap said...

For those who have a Magic Bullet, don't even try with it, that do not work well, I tried with both blade, it was a big failure. The secret is to start to mix without oil and then to incorporate the oil little by little... but even like that it's not perfect. also do not believe the commercial, the Magic Bullet is not that great...

Adrian said...

Hi Chef John ,

I have made a number of your recipes and wanted to thank you for the inspiration. I am trying to make a pie. Do I have to use butter or can I use imperial vegetable oil?


Thank you for your reply.

Chef John said...

You need butter or shortening but not oil.

Shilag said...

I've tried this and your neutral mayo (because I didn't want to waste garlic and basil) three times now and I just can't get it to thicken!
I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have a stick blender, I have a measuring cup that's the size of the blender head, I am using the correct measurements and all the ingredients (making half batches though, to save wasted ingredients) and I still can't get it to work.
I stick it all the way to the buttom and pulse quick pulses on and off, all good, thick mayo seems to be forming, but as I keep pulsing and more forming it just thins out, and turns into a liquid rather than a cream. I've tried sticking the bottom only, wiggling it around a bit, and going a bit more aggressive like in your original mayo video. I truly don't have any idea what I could be doing wrong, do you have any idea, Chef John? I would love to try this but I really don't want to waste more eggs and oil.. (I even tried with half the oil amount and even that didn't thicken).

Unknown said...

I used tofu instead of eggs and it still came out delicious.

Anonymous said...

Chef John, you've completely ruined me! I used to be happy with plain-old, store-bought light mayo, but now that I've had the real thing, I can't go back!

I've made this (and your other homemade mayo) recipe four times now and absolutely love it. You can practically eat this with a spoon, but it makes an ordinary chicken salad something truly special.

To those reading the comments and nervous about trying this: I have a super-old stick blender which was my wife's from before we got married, and I have been doing all the mixing in a pyrex measuring cup. I gave it a couple hits on low and then steadily on low until the mayo starts to form, which takes maybe three seconds. After that you're just blending everything else in.

I've halved the ingredients every time I've made it, and with various acids. Per Chef John's comments and original video, I have found that 3 parts "plain" (vegetable, canola) oil to one part olive oil works well to my taste. The one I made with 100% evoo was my least favorite.

navalperson123 said...

If the salmonella badness is on the exterior of the eggshells, why not blanch the basil before the eggs? Now you're putting the basil in pristine, unpolluted hot water. After transferring it to the ice bath, then you can simmer the eggs for 30 seconds and let the potential salmonella flow into the hotbath. Then scoop out the eggs with the strainer, rinse under the tap for 5 seconds (to wash off any miniscule traces of possible salmonella yuck), and dump them into the ice bath.

Chef John said...

I think you are confused. Any salmonella is killed instantly by the boiling water. Why would you rinse off the eggs after boiling? Doing the eggs first or basil first makes zero difference.

Unknown said...

I am with @Shilag I have tried twice now to make this Mayo but all I get is green goo. Please help I want so much to try this.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chef John said...

Is the blender like mine? My guess is that some inexpensive models may not blend fast enough to work, but like I've told others, this has never not worked for me, so I have no idea!

Unknown said...

about the only difference between the one I am using and yours is that my has a flat bottom vs a toothed bottom like yours. The next time I try I will video myself making the Mayo to see if you can spot what I am doing wrong. knowing my luck when I go to video myself it will work ....

Sebastian said...

I used a 20$ stick blender, the measuring cup was too wide and this still worked beautifully. I used lime juice and added rosemary. Amazing on grilled flank steak and sausages!

dweirdcrazyteen said...

Is it okay if I use regular mustard instead of Dijon?

dweirdcrazyteen said...

Is it ok if I use regular mustard instead of Dijon? Can't find it where I live...

Anonymous said...

I thought I'd share -- this has worked for me at least a half dozen times, but for whatever reason it failed to work this weekend -- twice... I thought I saw the mayo forming and started blending more liberally, only to end up with a runny yellow liquid.

The only thing I can think of is the order in which I added things -- though I'm fairly certain I've always done it this way -- I measured the oil first and then put everything else in on top of it. I waited a minute or so before blending, but maybe the acids didn't make it to the bottom before blending, and therefore I didn't get an emulsification?

JeremyHillblossom said...

Well I tried this and was horribly dissatisfied with the results. My mayonnaise ended up a light yellow goo. I tried it ten times and the result was always the same. And it baffles me how it looked so easy in both of your videos. Really I can't see what I was doing wrong as my stick blender was a perfect fit in the measuring cup. Thus this is the first recipe by you which I've yet to succeed at. Kudos for making me want to challenge myself. Someday... someday I will have my mayo.

Unknown said...

I'm so bummed! Tried this twice and both times I couldn't get this to emulsify... not sure what I'm doing wrong... used an appropriate sized container, same exact hand blender you have... the non-emulsified mixture actually made a pretty decent marinade for chicken though... we didn't want to waste it, so poured it on and they came out nice on the grill... Hoping to get this to work some time, I have made mayo before, but only using the whisk and drizzle method... this seemed like it would be so easy :(

Unknown said...

Hey Chef John, please put an annotation saying that the Pyrex cup DOES NOT WORK with most hand-blenders, as the curved bottoms does not allow the blender to be pushed up against the bottom. I initially tried this, but it failed to emulsify. I then added a few egg yolks to a flat-bottomed drinking cup, threw the goopy mess in there on top of it, and blended it some more, and it emulsified much better. The result was not the best, but it certainly wasn't the sludge I had before, it was in between, leaning towards the mayo-side. Thanks!
-Matthew

Denise said...

Just perfect, mine looked just like yours!!

Gigi said...

I have been making mayo this way for a long time and without explanation, occasionally it doesn't work. But I keep going back to it because 9/10 times it works.

When you get a very liquidy mayo, crack an egg (I use whole eggs) and add the liquidy mixture to it slowly as you pulse with the blender and that usually works to thicken it up.

I have always done this with room temperature ingredients... I wonder if it is a problem when everything is cold?

Also, I make this directly into a jar that is the size of my stick blender that I am storing the mayo it. This makes clean up EVEN easier, if that's possible!

Annabelle Lee said...

Oh yeah, if anyone has an immersion stick that has a low to high setting, have it on low to make mayonnaise. First I tried it on high, it just made the yellow goop. The next batch was on low and it came out as really thick mayonnaise.

Yardog59 said...

Okay, so every time I've tried making mayo it turns out like a think oil, tastes terrible. In my defense I've never had an immersion blender. Now that I have one I thought I would give this a try. It turned out amazing and is fantastic in a potato salad.

Thanks, Chef John, I'll be making this on often. (Not too often though)

Unknown said...

I have had success and failure with this recipe. The most important step is to ensure that your blender is over the egg yoke and that the hold it down against the bottom of your container. Also use as short on and off pulses as possible when starting. It does work.

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John, i will ask you if is possible to roast the garlic instead to use it raw? will affect the tease? if is possible please let me know. thanks

Chef John said...

Sure you can use roasted garlic, and of course it's going to taste different! I assume you've had both roasted garlic and raw garlic, so you already know what the difference in taste would be. enjoy!

Unknown said...

Just made this with Cilantro instead of Basil because I didn't have basil. BUT let me just say- DELICIOUS! I used it for chicken salad and its freaking amazing! I will never buy mayo again.

beemo said...

Midnight munchies -- out of mayo! out of garlic! What to do?

Have fresh basil and green onions... hmm why not try this mayo recipe with green onion instead of garlic...

Mashed basil, green onion, and coarse salt in a marble mortar, then proceeded.

Result: Possibly not as good as with garlic the miracle herb, but still DAMNED FINE

Anonymous said...

Hey all, my first attempt of stick-blender mayonnaise sadly failed to emulsify. I used the Ovente blender found on Amazon, it doesn't have the side ports that John's Cuisinart does, perhaps that's the difference.

However the point of this post is not to talk about blenders, it's to link the technique I used to rescue my mayonnaise. Using my stick blender's included whisk attachment, I first blended one more egg yolk and some mustard in a bowl. Then I slowly added in the container of original "mayo" to end up with perfect mayo!

So don't loose hope if your batch doesn't turn out!

-Dave

beemo said...

Once again in a need-mayo-now crisis, I used: gone-to-seed thyme from pot on now freezing balcony: balsamic vinegar & white wine vinegar; white onion, green onion, garlic, pinch cayenne, coarse salt. Ground these things in marble mortar, then proceeded as usual.

Result perhaps only something a mother could love, goofy color thanks to the balsamic vinegar, but nice enough on toast. After two tries, I now suspect the green onion should be left out -- funny slightly bitter flavor.

A bigger point is that I can now do this almost with my eyes closed, and this is a bit of a personal victory, for alas I am not well adjusted, and failure sends me into fits of rage; and a couple of times I failed at this with characteristic effect. However I stuck with it. Something about Chef John's overall style and presentation encouraged me to relax a little and keep trying.

Gzap said...

I just made this with fresh basil from my herb garden. :-) The first try did not work. I have the Breville immersion blender and unfortunately the mayo did not emulsify correctly on the first try. On the second try I started with the immersion blender on speed 10 and I also reduced the quantity of the oil from 1 1/2 cups to one cup and this combination did the trick. The mayo came out delicious, thanks for the guidance!