Easy Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is so easy to make that you'll wonder why you were buying industrial one so far...

The important thing is to have all the ingredients at room temperature. Take them out of the fridge about 15 minutes in advance.

• 1 very fresh egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (try Maille or Amora brands)
• salt and pepper
  
• canola or sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice.

1. Place the egg yolk in a bowl. By the way the bowl should be at room temperature too.
   
2. Add the mustard, salt and pepper. Stir until obtaining a smooth paste.
3. Let the oil flow in a thin stream over the mustard paste, stirring constantly with a metal spoon or a whisk. Pour the oil slowly enough so that the emulsion remains homogeneous at all time. Theoretically one can make up to 1 liter of mayonnaise with 1 egg... So add as much (or as little) oil as you need, as long as the constistency of the sauce doesn't change (it shouldn't become liquid).
4. Finish with the vinegar or lemon juice. Stir some more to incorporate.
   
5. Consume right away or keep in the fridge with a plastic film covering the bowl, no more than a day or two.
   

Variant: in some recipes the vinegar is added at the same time as the mustard, salt and pepper. That works too. Adding the vinegar at the end is Pierre's mom's secret (not anymore!) and I never missed a mayonnaise since I started doing it this way.

Another alternative: if you are using an electrical blender you can use the whole egg (white and yolk). The mayonnaise will be lighter in color and texture.

Mousseline sauce: this impressive sauce (which is perfect with steamed aspargus for instance) is nothing more than a fancy mayonnaise. The egg white is whipped separately (into a firm white foam) and incorporated at the end.

Photos added on Sept. 09, 2006