The time has come to rehabilitate the wonderful French sauce, which the modern food industry has greatly damaged its reputation.
We will not tell you which products mayonnaise is suitable for - given that Russia is the world leader in per capita consumption of mayonnaise (5.1 kg per year!), We are sure that our readers have no shortage of their own ideas. What we offer you to cook is a classic French Provencal, rid of everything that mass production brought into it - dyes, preservatives, sugar, starch, and other undesirable elements. In order to make homemade mayonnaise, you only need a limited selection of quality natural products:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of Dijon mustard
- 400 ml of “correct” vegetable oil
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- a couple of pinches of finely ground pepper
First, make sure all foods are at the same temperature. This is important because otherwise it may not go astray. Someone prefers to pre-warm them to room temperature, someone, on the contrary, stores them all until the last moment in the refrigerator. There is no consensus on this matter, choose any option.
You can cook mayonnaise using a mixer or an “old-school” way. knocking down by hand with a whisk. We leave the choice to you.
First, beat the yolks and mustard well. Then, continuing to beat, start adding oil a little - first, a few drops, but then, when you start to get something like mayonnaise, you can start pouring the oil faster - in an even thin stream. When you beat everything, add salt, pepper and mix everything thoroughly. If it seems to you that the mayonnaise is too thick (this is already a matter of taste), add a little water and beat again. That's all, the mayonnaise is ready, the whole cooking process will take you 5-10 minutes. And further options are possible:
You can add a little lemon juice, a spoonful of wine vinegar, or white wine to the mayonnaise (all this must be mixed with the yolks before you start pouring in the oil). You can add chopped garlic, finely chopped herbs like dill, tarragon, or parsley, or, for example, a little cayenne pepper, curry, a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. Or vice versa - to make mayonnaise without mustard, but it will no longer be "provence". Some people prefer to beat mayonnaise not with yolks, but with whole eggs. This, of course, is a serious violation of the canon, but if you like it more, then why not?
But the most important point here is, of course, the choice of oil. There are different opinions and different national traditions on this score. In Russia, for example, most of the purchased mayonnaise is made from incomprehensible (and obviously not very useful) "vegetable" oil, or at best from sunflower oil. In the Nordic countries, rapeseed is used, in the Mediterranean - the mildest olive varieties, in America - soybean, and so on. The rule is simple: if you want to get mayonnaise without additional flavors and shades, then use refined oil with a neutral taste. We advise you to stay away from sunflower and corn, due to the too high content of omega-6, so it is better to use rapeseed here. If you want to be more environmentally friendly and use organic products (which we recommend), then take unrefined cold-pressed oil, for example, the same rapeseed. Typically these oils have their own flavor, but this can be good as it is. and the final product is not trivial, and not impersonal. The mayonnaise in the photo is made from a 3: 1 mixture of cold pressed rapeseed oil and extra virgin olive oil. Quite a good combination in my opinion. Next time you can, for example, mix rapeseed and flaxseed. In general, do not be afraid to experiment, look for your ideal taste. But you need to be careful with olive oil - choose the mildest varieties, without bitterness.
Ready-made mayonnaise can be stored in the refrigerator from 4-5 days to several weeks. The shelf life depends on how carefully you handle it - keep the mayonnaise in a sealed container, leave it out of the refrigerator less and use a clean spoon - all this will keep the product longer.
