Homemade Mayonnaise (and How to Fix It If It Splits)
Real homemade mayonnaise comes together in under 5 minutes with an immersion blender, no need to drizzle the oil in little by little. The trick is the order of ingredients and a single rule: don't move the blender until the emulsion forms at the bottom. Done right, it almost never splits, and if it does, it's fixable on the spot.
- 1 whole egg, at room temperature
- 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) mild oil (sunflower, or a very mild olive oil)
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice or vinegar
- 4-5 g salt (about 1 level tsp)
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1
Set up the cup
Put the whole egg, the salt, and the lemon juice or vinegar into the blender cup.
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2
Add the oil without mixing
Pour the oil in slowly, letting it float on top without mixing it into the egg yet. The layers should stay clearly separated: egg and lemon at the bottom, oil on top.
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3
Position the blender
Push it all the way to the bottom of the cup, resting firmly against the base, and don't move it yet.
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4
Start blending without moving it
Turn the blender on at low or medium speed, without lifting it off the bottom. You'll see the mixture at the bottom start to emulsify and turn white and thick: this is the most important part of the whole process, so don't rush it.
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5
Raise it very slowly
Only once the base is well bound and thick, start raising the blender very slowly, so it gradually pulls in the oil left on top. Doing this slowly is what keeps the emulsion from breaking.
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6
Adjust flavor and texture
Once the mixture is thick and smooth, taste and adjust the salt or lemon. If you want it lighter, add a tablespoon of water and blend for one more second.
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7
If it splits: how to fix it
If the mayonnaise splits (turns liquid and separated instead of creamy), don't throw it out: wash the cup, add 10 ml of fresh water, and pour in the split mixture in small amounts, the same way you added the oil in the original recipe, blending without lifting the blender off the bottom until it emulsifies again. The water works like the egg did: it gives the emulsion a clean base to start over from.
- Room-temperature egg is key: straight from the fridge, the emulsion has a much harder time getting started.
- Not moving the blender until the base is thick is the step that does the most to prevent splitting: the temptation is to lift it right away, but it pays to wait.
- If you like a garlicky version, add a chopped garlic clove to the cup from the start: it turns into homemade aioli.
- Keeps 3-4 days in the fridge, in a well-sealed jar.
- Using an egg straight from the fridge: the emulsion starts worse and splits more easily.
- Moving or raising the blender before the base has thickened: it breaks the emulsion just as it starts forming.
- Throwing out split mayonnaise instead of fixing it: with 10 ml of fresh water and adding the split mixture back in gradually, it almost always comes together again.