Once you’ve made your own mayonnaise, if you are like me, you will never want to buy your mayo in a store ever again. There’s just something about having homemade mayonnaise that makes you want to eat Moules or Steak Frites as soon as possible. This recipe does not assume you have any kitchen equipment. David has convinced me that, for some things, doing it by hand is easy enough that there isn’t any reason not to get a little exercise!

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp dijon mustard, Maille is what I use
1 cup canola oil, or any other neutral flavored oil (safflower, vegetable etc)
salt to taste

Making mayonnaise starts with separating an egg yolk from the white and placing it in the bottom of a medium sized bowl. Juice the half of the lemon into the bowl and add a small spoonful, about a teaspoon measure, of dijon mustard. Ever since David introduced me to Maille mustard I haven’t used any other brand but you can use another brand of dijon mustard as well.

Now for the exercise! Whisk together the ingredients in the bowl and begin to slowly add the oil in a thin stream while whisking constantly. You may need to add a little and whisk it in before continuing. After you have whisked in about half the oil you can go a little faster with the oil, just make sure you incorporate the oil completely before adding more. If it gets a little too thick you can add a teaspoon or so of warm water to loosen it up a bit.

Once all the oil is added, taste it and add salt until it tastes rights. It shouldn’t take too much salt. I usually only add a pinch or two and it tastes great. You probably want to make this ahead and store it in the refrigerator. Ideally you should use it within 4 or 5 days the sooner the better, depending on your refrigerator it may stay good for slightly longer. Use it in anything that calls for mayonnaise or as a dip for fries!