Homemade French Mayonnaise

With all the recent news about the health detriments of seed oils, I have gotten back to making homemade mayonnaise. In my travels to France, I fell in love with the classic French version, which is a bit more “vinegary and mustardy” (read flavorful) than our standard grocery store mayonnaise. This recipe for Homemade French Mayonnaise captures the attributes of the most famous sauce in French cuisine. My favorite dijon to use in this mayonnaise is the Edmond Fallot brand from France. When last visiting, I stopped by their shop in Dijon and did mustard tastings, which was delightful. I learned that the Edmond Fallot brand is the only brand left that is made totally in France….. mustard seeds and all. Other brands have taken to importing their mustard seeds. You should give this lovely mustard a try, and taste the difference! https://amzn.to/45OzYrF

I have made this lovely Homemade French Mayonnaise two ways, the traditional, as well as the quick. I will leave it up to you to choose which works best for you.

To make this lovely Homemade French Mayonnaise in the traditional manner, all ingredients must be at room temperature. The lower the temperature of the ingredients, the lower the capacity of the oil and water to mix because the oil tends to solidify. Do not add the oil too quickly, as this risks halting the emulsion in its tracks. You can use a whisk, or even a fork, to bring your ingredients to the silky smooth texture of mayonnaise.

The quick version is just that….. quick, and EASY! Firstly, place all the ingredients out and bring to room temperature. Next, load all the ingredients, except the oil, into a wide-mouthed mason jar. Using an immersion blender, in an up and down motion, blend while drizzling the oil, until the mixture forms a thick, smooth mayonnaise.

As far as oil for the mayonnaise goes, you will want to stick to a “flavorless” oil. Finding a non-seed oil that is flavorless has been challenging. Many people use an avocado oil, which will work just fine, and is a healthy choice. I have settled on using an organic, flavorless MCT oil, which is a bit on the pricey side, but it has great health benefits that go along with it. Traditionally, sunflower oil has been used. You could also use avocado or grapeseed oil, both of which are very neutral.

If your mayonnaise won’t come together, or has broken –

You can rectify a “broken” mayonnaise with a few grains of salt, a few drops of lemon juice, a bit of mustard, and a spoon full of warm water. Leave the broken mayonnaise out at room temperature for a half hour. With an electric mixer, beat a half teaspoon of mustard into your broken mayonnaise. Put a spoonful of warm water, a few drops of lemon juice, and small pinch of salt in a bowl. Beat in a spoonful of the broken mayonnaise, adding it bit by bit while beating at high speed. The mixture should foam. In the same way add a second spoon of the broken mayonnaise, and then a third. You should see the sauce thickening and ‘taking.’ Now using a small ladle, very gradually incorporate the rest of the broken mayonnaise into the new mixture. The finished product will be perfectly smooth and firm.

I have used the above method to fix mayonnaise that just didn’t come together with my immersion blender…… no matter how long I whirred, nothing was happening. Following the above steps, I was able to get my un-emulsified mayonnaise incorporated into the bowl and emulsified. Once everything was combined, I then transferred that mixture to my canning jar, where I used the immersion blender to blend it a bit more, making it thicker and creamier.

Mayonnaise as the base of many sauces

There are many sauces that use Mayonnaise as a base. To make some of the most well-known, simply start with Mayonnaise and add: