Homemade mayo going into the storage jar – look at how yellow our farm fresh egg yolks make the mayo!

Homemade mayo?  You bet!  It sounds like it would be difficult but it really isn’t.  Some folks make their mayo with a blender but I do it by hand – it takes more time to dig out the blender and clean it up than it does to get out a bowl and a whisk.

This recipe is what I’ve tweaked for our preferences, which is to taste close to the Heinz brand of mayo that is made with sugar instead of corn syrup.  This is a raw egg recipe, so if you are uncomfortable with eating raw eggs, this may not be the recipe for you.  Because our eggs come from the hens in our pasture, our mayonnaise is a yellow color, unlike store-bought mayo.  The mayo is not as solid as store-bought mayo, but once it is cold, the consistency thickens up a bit.

Homemade Mayonnaise

2 medium to large sized egg yolks – COLD from the refrigerator for best results (if your eggs are on the smaller size, like a pullet egg, use 3 yolks)

1 c. extra light olive oil (if you use virgin/extra virgin, it has a funky flavor)

1.5 Tablespoons white vinegar

1.5 Tablespoons lemon juice

scant Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper (white pepper will make the specks hard to see for picky children)

Separate your egg yolks from the whites and put the yolks into your mixing bowl.  (If your yolks break while you are separating the eggs, or if the yolks break when you put them into the bowl, you may need to use the yolks for something else and start over with more eggs.  I’ve found that if the yolk breaks before you stir it and is runny, your mayo is more likely to be VERY runny and not set up.  This mayo is not as firm and solid as store-bought mayo, but the interaction between the yolk and the oil will not be correct and it will be extra-thin if the yolk is runny before you start mixing.)

Using a whisk (a flat whisk works better than a round one), whisk your egg yolks to mix them up.  While whisking continuously, SLOWLY pour in your olive oil in a thin stream into the yolks.  (If you have difficulty whisking continuously while pouring oil in, alternate pouring in just a TINY amount of oil and whisking it completely into the yolks before you add more oil.  Some antique recipe books recommend to add the oil in drop by drop for best results)

You should be able to see the oil and yolk mixture coming together.  It will have some texture/thickness to it – similar to a very soft-set pudding.  (If you put in 1/4 of a cup of oil and it is very runny, it most likely will continue to be too thin and I recommend you start over with new egg yolks.)

Continue to pour in the oil in a thin stream slowly, while whisking, until you have mixed in all the oil.

Add the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper, whisking thoroughly to mix it.

Can be used immediately if desired, otherwise place it into refrigerator to thicken it a little bit.

Makes approximately 1 cup of mayo.

To store the mayo for as long as possible, I put it into a sterilized (and cooled) jar with a lid in the refrigerator.  Filling a canning jar, or any glass jar you’ve saved, with water and putting it into the microwave until the water boils, will sterilize the jar easily and the jar can be cooling while you get out your ingredients and make your mayo.