Homemade Mayonnaise

Making homemade mayo has been one of my favorite things to learn ever! I used to hate mayo with a passion, but once we got on the GAPS diet and I kept reading about how good it is for you and how easy, I had to try it. They were right. It is amazing and so versatile. Please remember that recipes like this are so subjective to taste. We like ours mayo tart so generally add more Apple Cider Vinegar. Feel free to experiment and find what your family likes. Here is my recipe with some variations.

Ingredients:

3 large egg yolks at room temperature*see below
1 1/2 Tbl lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp juice from ferments (optional)
1/2 tsp Real or sea salt
1 cup olive oil

additions:
garlic (1-2 cloves)

1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh of any of the following
dill
chives
other herbs

Put everything into a large mouth mason jar or a tall plastic cup. Using an immersion blender, put the blender stick all the way down until it touches the bottom of the container. Turn it on and slowly bring it up through the ingredients. When you reach the top you will have mayo! You can take it up and down through the mayo to continue to thicken it abit. This makes a really thick mayo. You can add up to 1/4 cup more olive oil to have a thinner variety.

Blender or food processor method:

The first time I made this it turned into a runny mess. I was trying in my blender. It is a little more challenging in the blender or food processor, but here is the process:

Put all ingredients in the container except for the oil. Turn on the machine and slowly dribble in the oil through the top. This will work, it is just a little less fool-proof than using the immersion blender.

Alternative mayo recipe:

Here is another recipe that I have heard is wonderful and it uses coconut oil and the whole egg. For those of you who have digestion issues, its best to stick to the yolk only in the raw state.


* Salmonella is a bacteria that can make you very sick. Fortunately it is very rare even in battery raised chickens (huge buildings with 1000's of chicken in tiny cages, laying eggs). In pasture raised (chickens that are allowed access to the outside, and hopefully grass and have a much healthier living environment) it is almost non-existent. It truly is a product of unhealthy livestock management. Not that there is not a risk, but it is very small. Also, the addition of the vinegar or lemon juice makes the environment of the mayo inhospitable to bad bacteria.

** Adding a bit of fermented juice from fermented veggies if you are making them, definitely gives it a nice flavor and extends the shelf life and puts some good bacteria and enzymes in your mayo.