Homemade Paleo Mayonnaise

  

Spring is on the move (& hopefully with Summer close behind).  Around these parts the light is permeating around 4:00 am, the roosters from the nearby neighbor alerting everyone within ear shot to arise by 5:30, and my little girls are ready to begin by 6:15ish.  I welcome these morning with much more gusto, because it means plenty of Vitamin D, picnics in the park, & walks in the evening.

For me, I can’t help but imagine what Ma Ingalls would have been doing around this time at Plum Creek.  She was probably feeding the chickens, making bread, churning butter.  I like to imagine her sitting at her table with bowl & whisk, using those mighty muscles covered by layers of cloth, which caused egg & oil to submit to her will.  The emulsion was created and she added more oil, along with some salt and a couple minutes later she’d have some mayonnaise. 

More than likely, that’s what was happening in France & not at Plum Creek.  But in my home yesterday, I was taking part in this rhythm found throughout centuries of women & men transforming an egg & oil with some herbs & spices into a creamy, eggy gift.  The more we take part in knowing where our food comes from & how we can transform these simple gifts, the more we appreciate the goodness of the feast. Happy Friday to you!

Homemade Paleo Mayonnaise (printable recipe)

I only had extra virgin olive oil on hand, because I didn’t want to make yet another stop to the store with kids in tow.  Had I found some light olive oil in my cupboard, that’s what I would have used.  Use room temperature ingredients. And if you’re wondering why my mayonnaise is more yellow than creamy white, it’s because the pastured egg yolks.

Ingredients:

2 room temperature pastured eggs, separate & save the whites for later.

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 – 1 1/4 cup light olive oil

 

Directions: 

All ingredients at room temperature.  Get a kitchen towel and make a little nest to place your bowl in it.  This will stabilize your bowl from moving while you whisk. Get your whisk ready.  Measure your olive oil in a measuring cup with a spout.

Add your two eggs, lemon juice, mustard & salt to the bowl.  Whisk them thoroughly until completely combined, about 15 seconds.  Continue whisking and slowly, I repeat, SLOWLY, add 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Your whisking hand should NOT STOP WHISKING for even one second.  What you’re doing is creating an emulsion between the oil & other ingredients. 

Once the emulsion has been created.  You can tell by the mixture looking a bit like gel, it thickens (takes about 40 seconds or less).  Once you see this, continue whisking and add the remainder of the oil in a nice steady stream.  Taste & see if you need more salt.  If you want to add some herbs (like tarragon) that would be lovely.  Store in the fridge for about a week or two, depending on how old your eggs were. 

 

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