Citrus Mayonnaise -Samuel

Mayonnaise. I used to hate it. In trying to be health-conscious, I avoided mayonnaise like the plague after hearing all the rotten gossip about the health detriments of mayonnaise ("No, I did NOT ask for mayonnaise in my sandwich"). But one day I succumbed to its creamy, delicious goodness, and I guess I'm on a one-way trip down mayonnaise lane.

So why does mayonnaise warrant its own recipe? For one, it's incredibly versatile. Use it to make some deviled eggs,  sauces in place of sour cream or crème fraîche with some tweaking, or a simple but glorious ham and cheese sandwich. Second, basic recipes such as these lets the reader innovate and think for themselves, which I find to be important.

Why make mayonnaise yourself? Well, after making this recipe yourself, you just can't go back to store-bought. Supermarket mayonnaise tastes like water and lacks depth and flavor. A pity, that, but thankfully mayonnaise is very easy to make and anyone could make it on their own.

Every mayonnaise recipe basically involves an emulsion of egg yolk and oil, an acid, and any other flavors of your choosing. Here's my rendition of mayonnaise:

Citrus Mayonnaise (Difficulty: Easy-Medium)
Makes: 2 cups
Cost: $1-2, 
Time spent: 10 minutes

Food processor not necessary but recommended. I tried it by hand once and it's doable but tiring.

Ingredients: 
-4 egg yolks
~1 tsp Dijon mustard or horseradish (optional)
~1.5 cup oil (a flavorless or mildly flavored olive oil works. DEFINITELY not EVOO)
-Juice of half a lemon
-Juice of half a lime
-Pinch of salt and ground pepper

1. Get your 4 egg yolks and put them in the food processor. Pulse them a few times until they're nice and creamy.
2. Add the dijon mustard/horseradish, if you like a bit of kick and mustard flavor and pulse a few times again.
3. Now add the oil VERY, VERY SLOWLY. If you add it too fast, the oil and eggs will not combine properly and you'll end up with a really watery mayonnaise. Just trickle it into your food processor for the first minute or two when it looks like it's thickening a bit (it'll start to cling to the sides), and then you can add the oil a little quicker. I usually start out with the groundnut oil first.
4. You'll see it visibly thicken, and when it's at the point where you think it's thick enough, add the juice of the lemon, lime, and add the salt and pepper. It should come out to look something like this:

5. You'll notice that it's still a tiny bit runny. That's normal. Leave it to set and amalgamate the flavors in the fridge, and when it's cooled down, you'll notice it will have gotten a lot thicker and has a beautiful color and shine:

You're finished making mayonnaise! Feel free to use this light mayonnaise as a base in any variety of dishes that you wish, or spread it on a baguette from this recipe: Classic French Baguette. Happy mayo-making!