Mayonnaise

This cold sauce is the basic sauce from which most of the other cold sauces derive from. It consists of a cold emulsion of egg yolks, vinegar and oil. Its origin is not very clear. It seems to be four different origins to this recipe. The first one, gives the invention of the mayonnaise to the Duc de Richelieu in 1756. Other sources seem to link this recipe to the town of Bayonne , where it would have been the speciality. Antonin Careme, in his "Traité des entrées froides" refers to the word manier (To handle) to explain the origin of the mayonnaise. Finaly, Prosper Montagné (1865-1948), writer of the world famous "Larousse Gastronomic" suggest that the word mayonnaise comes from an old French word, moyeu, which meant egg yolk.

Before looking at the recipes (old and modern ones), lets lay down the conditions that are going to make this recipe a success every time.

- First tip: season with the salt at the beginning of the recipe by dissolving it into the vinegar. By doing that the chloride ions, contained in the salt, will help stabilizing the emulsion.

- Second one: make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature before starting. Temperature chocks are the second most common cause of mayonnaise failure.

- Third and maybe the most important one: take your time. Make sure that you add the oil to the mixture, at the beginning of the recipe, very gradually and very slowly.

Recipe for a litre of finished mayonnaise "old style" as A. Escoffier made it:

• 6 egg yolks.
• 1 lit vegetable oil.
• 11/2 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
• 10g table salt.
• 1g white pepper.

In a bowl, dissolve the salt in half of the vinegar or lemon juice.

Add the egg yolks and stir well.

Very slowly and very gradualy, start whisking in the oil. When it has started to thicken, gradualy increase the amount of oil that is incorporated the the sauce (no more than a medium drizzle though).

Add in the rest of the vinegar or lemon juice and season with the white pepper.

Modern mayonnaise recipe as I was taught in college, for a litre of finished sauce:

• 4 egg yolks.
• 1 tea spoon of dijon mustard.
• 1 spoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
• 10g table salt.
• 1g white pepper.
• 1 lit vegetable oil.

In a bowl dissolve the salt in half of the vinegar or lemon juice. Add in the mustard and egg yolks and mix them well.

Very gently and very gradually, start stirring in the oil. When it starts thickening, slowly increase the amount of oil that is incorporated to the mixture (again, no more than a drizzle).

Finish the sauce by adding the rest of the lemon juice or vinegar and season with the white pepper.

Note that a mayonnaise sauce cannot be stored in the fridge (another major cause of the sauce spliting). It should be kept only for a day or two in a cool place. Being aware of the health risk that are involved with the use of raw eggs and the way the sauce is stored, I would advise pregnant women, elderly or young children to use ready made mayonnaise, which can be kept refrigerated.

"A well made sauce will make even an elephant or a grandfather palatable."

Grimod de la Reynière

Gluten free, vegetarian, suitable for diabetics (in small amount), dairy free.