Home-made Mayo Clinic

Mayonnaise, that ubiquitous condiment that sits in your refrigerator door waiting to be slathered between two slices of bread, a mound of sliced animal flesh (like honey roasted ham) and a slice of cheese, lettuce leaf and tomato if you're really "doing it up".  


What is "Mayo"? 


Why is Miracle Whip and Mayo different? 


Where did Mayo come from?


If you need a few of these questions answered, you can read the history of Mayonnaise at Wikipedia, and then head on over to Miracle Whip.  I'm no genius, but there doesn't seem to be any difference in the major ingredients, Kraft just happened to have a mechanical guy sell them a machine that emulsified the ingredients more thoroughly and cheaper.  Not a big deal.

Doesn't that look healthy??!!


Miracle Whip tastes sweeter.  Hellman's is the original American mayo... and based on it's European ancestors.  Take your pick. Now.... quit fighting and acting snobby!  THEY ARE BOTH CRAP compared to what you can make at home.... fresh!


How do you make home-made mayonnaise?


Howcast version:

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Gordon Ramsey Cookalong version:

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BBC Good Food version:

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Just went to the fridge and grabbed my jar of Miracle Whip, let's look at the food label ingredients:

• Water, Soybean oil, Vinegar, Sugar, Modified Cornstarch, Eggs... those are the biggies.  Contains less than 2% of...
• Salt, Mustard Flour, Paprika, Spice, Natural Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (as a preservative), Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk, and Dried Garlic.

First of all, you can bet that Kraft Foods is buying the cheapest soybean oil available on the market... to keep their production costs lower and maximize profit.  Anybody in business should expect them to do no less... but it's our responsibility as consumers to say to Kraft "We are shopping for food items with OUR HEALTH as our main priority, and will only buy products that meet our standards."  Kraft will make products that meet both their cost/profit ratio and our personal health standards if we quit buying their unhealthy products.


This is happening gradually, and the marketing geniuses at Kraft have heard the voices of their consumers because right below the ingredient list is a highlighted disclaimer: NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP OR ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS.


Thank you Michael Pollan!


Next on the ingredient list is vinegar. People who worry about mayonnaise being a raw egg product and spoiling... are not to be discouraged, but... Vinegar is one of those weapons in our "long before modern technology and refrigeration days" when we had to fight off bacterial invasions stealing our precious food supply.  The addition of vinegar helps to lower the pH of mayonnaise so those pesky airborne microbes that land on everything uncovered don't have a happy environment to set up shop and colonize your mayo.


Vinegar is a good friend to us Un-Refined Chefs.


However, the salmonella already on the egg shell from the mother hen... and likely transfered into your egg mixture no matter how carefully you try not to... can be a very nasty bug if enough of them are consumed.  And as careful as you try to be with one or two eggs... try being THAT careful with 10,000 in an industrial food complex.  Ain't gonna happen no how and no way!


Sugar is another ingredient I will write a full Un-Refined Chef article about soon.  We consume to much of it (I'm guilty, too).  There needs to be some "natural" alternatives that are healthier for us than the white granules we process and subsidize to death, or the fructose injected corn syrup crap that has gotten into EVERYTHING the last few decades.


The reason I like making food from scratch is that it allows me to control the amount of sugar and sodium that I am consuming daily.  Kraft may have gotten the message about high-fructose corn syrup, but they are still pandering to my sweet-tooth cravings and the exact amount is probably too high, but unknown unless I go work for them and find out.


The last ingredient we'll discuss is the potassium sorbate, which is used as a food preservative.  In my bookmarks on my browser, I have several links that help me find out information about food products and chemicals... I run across new ones everyday.  My advice to anyone is to be curious about what goes into your body.  Nobody else is going to protect you, and in fact, many are making good business out of your ignorance.


Potassium Sorbate is not a dangerous food additive, especially in the low quantities needed.  It is the lack of this ingredient that will probably make your homemade batch of mayonnaise break down and separate after a week in the fridge.  In this capacity it helps stop fermentation, acidification and further food deterioration.  Potassium Sorbate also acts as an inhibitor for yeast and mold.


According to this research paper "Mixture design for evaluation of potassium sorbate and xanthan gum effect on properties of tapioca starch films obtained by extrusion", students in Brazil are attempting to make a food packaging wrap that is biodegradable and anti-microbial with Potassium Sorbate in the final bio-polymer.  Take heart... if it can go INTO the food AND be a food wrap... you can eat the package, too!


Seriously...


Let's do some Un-Refining Chef recipe stuff:


We've watched the home made mayonnaise videos and now we're ready to get down to brass tacks.  When you are buying your ingredients, be mindful of a few things.  Quality in = quality out.  I know that extra virgin olive oil is extra virgin olive oil.... it doesn't have to be the most expensive, but stay away from blends and chemical additives and the processed "cheap" stuff.  How to be an Olive Oil snob!



Other oils are acceptable, and if you believe the BBC video above... preferable.  I don't see anything wrong with using a very high quality extra-virgin olive oil.  It won't "overpower" the mayonnaise with anything but great flavor... and that's what we're going for, right?


Eggs are the second ingredient of major importance.  Organic Valley is a brand offered at my local grocer, finding something comparable in your area is important.  A healthy bird that isn't cooped up all day long in the dark and pumped full of antibiotics... will produce a nice healthy egg.  The yolk will be a nice bright orange, too.  If it looks dull and yellow... you're not buying the right eggs.


As a fan, Alton Brown is a great resource for foodie-amateur-scientists, and he's done a show about The Mayo Clinic, with a very good recipe to follow.  But I have a few un-refined suggestions and alterations.

• 1 whole egg (organic, and remember separating whites from yolks increases risk of salmonella)
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil.
• 1 Tbl vinegar (I like white wine vinegar infused with tarragon)
• 1/2 lemon juice freshly squeezed
• Drizzle of agave nectar
• Pinch of dried mustard
• Coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Follow the same procedures used in the videos.... eggs and vinegar first in the food processor, then while blending add the oil slowly... this is the most important step, it helps create the chemical bonds that we call an emulsification.  Add the seasonings last and give the processor another quick whirl.


Once you've made your own home-made mayonnaise, you'll need to use it up quickly.  A good tuna/ham/chicken salad for sandwiches or maybe cole slaw (with carrots and apples) or German potato salad.  Whatever you like with mayonnaise!  Your tastebuds will thank you for it!


If you have any suggestions for more un-refined recipes and articles, feel free to comment.  I will continue my exploration of condiments next with a look at ketchup.  The only thing that allowed me to eat mom's liver and onions.... Sorry mom!


Chef Archer