How to Make Mayonnaise for Potato Salad

Oh, mayonnaise. You taste so wonderful on my sandwiches and in my dressings, but the reality of your composition makes me not want to eat you. I’m a fan of oil just like the next person, but how much oil do we really need to eat in one sitting? (FYI: In just one tablespoon you have 49 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 1 carbohydrate.)

In mayonnaise you need quite a bit oil–I’m talking cups of it. And just so we’re clear on this, mayonnaise calls for vegetable oil or canola oil, while aioli calls for olive oil. I’ve yet to try the aioli, but seeing how I have five pasteurized eggs sitting in my fridge I might make it soon. Well, I will if I can get over eating all that oil.

A word on pasteurized eggs. Pasteurization kills dangerous microorganisms with heat. Milk is pasteurized and so are some cheeses. You can buy pasteurized eggs in a carton or still in their shells. I opted for the shells. Be forewarned…these suckers get expensive, but at least you don’t have to worry about salmonella poisoning.

Few more facts about mayonnaise:

• Mayonnaise is often called one of the five mother sauces. It’s been around for over 200 years and is the base of countless other sauces. (Making it the “mother,” get it?)
• The mother sauces include Béchamel (white sauce, cream sauce), Velouté (chicken, fish, or veal based stock), Espagnole (meat-based brown stock), emulsified sauces (egg and fat based; usually a Hollandaise or Mayonnaise), and Vinaigrette (oil and vinegar based).
• Mayo results from an emulsion, which basically means two liquids that shouldn’t combine do combine thanks to a third liquid called an emulsifier.
• Whisking the mixture has to be the hardest part of making mayonnaise. If you don’t have an electric mixer, then you should consider mayo-making a two-person job. You’ll be whisking like crazy and slowly dribbling in oil at the same time.

Ingredients for Homemade Mayonnaise:

1 egg yolk (pasteurized)

1 tbsp lemon juice

2/3 cup vegetable oil

Salt, paprika, and hot sauce to taste (I used about a tsp of each)

How to Make Mayonnaise: 1) Separate the egg white from the egg yolk. 2) Whisk the yolk and add a few drops of lemon juice. 3) Add one drop of oil and whisk like crazy. 4) Slowly add one drop at a time and continue whisking fast. Things should start to look creamy. 5) Add more oil a little faster now. Once it resembles mayo you can add more of your lemon juice. 6) Continue whisking until you’ve poured in all your oil and lemon juice. 7) When you’re satisfied with its appearance add your seasonings to taste.

Download this mayonnaise recipe.

This recipe yields one cup of mayonnaise. If you eat a lot of mayo, then there’s no harm in doubling or tripling the ingredients. Just be sure to eat all the mayo within a few days. I’ve used mayo for dressings and other sauces, but this time around I used the mayo for a potato salad, one of my favorite summertime foods.

Recipe for Potato Salad:

4 large Russet potatoes

1 cup of mayo

4 tbsp yellow mustard

2 tbsp pickle relish

Salt and pepper to taste

Top with a sprinkling of paprika

Directions: Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4 inch cubes, boil until soft. Rinse, let cool, and place in a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently (don’t want to mash the potatoes). Before serving, sprinkle with paprika.

Download this potato salad recipe.

I can guess what you’re thinking: You Lancaster’s are not counting your calories! It’s never good when everything on your plate is the same color, I know. But to prove that we did have some color on the plate I thought I’d show you the inside of the sandwich. It’s a bacon, avocado, and tomato sandwich! Yum.