Basic Mayonaise

One of the lost household arts, is the making of the simplest ingredients. We take for granted that stocks and staples that we use for cooking, come in jars, pre-prepared, dependable and consistent.

It wasn't always this way. Many of these canned pre-cursors were whipped up in the kitchen. But now we buy them in cans and jars. But there is a price paid. The very consistency, can make them a bit boring, and the long shelf life of these products is often due to added chemicals, to stabilize these products.

Everything you can find in a can or jar, can be made from scratch. After all, what you buy in a store was cooked up in an industrial kitchen. The only difference between making it yourself or buying the product in a jar, may likely be freshness and preservatives.

The following simple recipe comes from The Art of Salad Making by Carol Truax, published in 1968.

BASIC MAYONNAISE

1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (optional)
1 cup oil
1-2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

Mix the egg yolk, salt and mustard if you wish, together in the bottom of a bowl. Add the oil, drop by drop while stirring. You may stir with a fork or rotary beater. when the mayonnaise begins to thicken, you may add the oil in a thin stream, stirring constantly. If the mayonnaise gets too thick, add a little of the vinegar or lemon juice, and then continue the slow addition of oil.

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Now for oil, I use extra virgin olive oil. Give this recipe a try. I think you'll like it. I certainly do.