How to Make Homemade Mayonnaise & Potato Salad

Summer brings lots of salads – more potato salad, macaroni salad, waldorf salad, and the like.  They all have mayonnaise in common, and I have adapted a recipe from The Joy of Cooking that (so far) works every time, to make food processor mayonnaise.

Commonly called Blender Mayonnaise, I find it much easier and fool-proof in my food processor.  The processor is both easier to use, for me anyway, and easier to clean. In only a few minutes I have soft, creamy, very flavorful mayonnaise – way better than store bought.  And it’s so easy, and cheaper, I’ve about given up buying the store stuff.

making mayo in a food processor takes only minutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the bits of oil that ran down the side of the food processor – they are easily stirred in, or scrape down the sides and whir it up again.   I like to make a quart at a time, and save it in a mason jar.

Use a mason jar to hold mayonnaise

Use everything at room temperature so the eggs and oil emulsify together.  I prefer the smoky quality of Sante Fe or Ancho chili powder, but plain chili powder works just as well.  Fresh lemon juice is always preferable over jarred juice, but I have used it in a pinch.

Just made homemade mayonnaise

 

making homemade food processor mayonnaise – so easy!

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Food Processor Mayonnaise

Course Ingredient
Keyword Mayonnaise
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

To start

  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tdp dry mustard
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Ancho or Sante Fe chili powder
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Add while the processor is running

  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 6 tsbp lemon juice equals the juice from 2 lemons
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Instructions

  1. Have all ingredients at room temperature so they will emulsify easily.  Get everything ready and measured.

  2. Add the eggs through the 1/2 cup of olive oil into the food processor, and blend well

  3. remove the plug of the food tube, and very slowly drizzle in the next cup of oil.  Do it very slowly.  YOu'll start to see mayonnaise develop.

  4. Leave the processor running and slowly add in the lemon juice.  Process until it's all incorporated.

  5. Slowly, once again, drip in the last cup of oil.  If necessary, stop the processor to scrape down the sides.  I find that anything not incorporated is easy to stir in at teh end.

Recipe Notes

Use more or less olive oil as you like, and try different oils for different flavor.  I find pure olive oil too overpowering.

Only once have I ever had the mayonnaise “break”, where it just would not emulsify into smooth mayonnaise, but turned into liquid – and it was with a blender, not my food processor.  If this happens, the easiest way to fix is to start with some more oil and another egg or two, then SLOWLY pour in the broken mayo until the eggs emulsify with it and turn it into mayo.  Who knows why this happens.  I know sometimes it just won’t firm up into mayo, and you might as well start over.  It;s only oil and eggs,  after all.

 

potato salad at home

This brings me to potato salad.  I never thought that I made it any special way, but as a friend watched me, she asked why I was cutting up the potatoes before I boiled them.  “It’s just the way I always have”, I replied.  “The smaller pieces cook faster and I don’t have to handle hot potatoes to slice or dice them”.

“Oh”, she said, ” I always cook them whole and then cut them up”.

What do you do?  Am I the only one who cuts the potatoes up first?

I also start mixing everything in a large bowl while the potatoes cook.  So the diced celery, and onion, mustard, and herbs (fresh preferably, today was chives and rosemary), diced hard boiled eggs,  salt and pepper, and finally the mayonnaise.  It’s easier to mix everything together with no potatoes.  Once the cooked potatoes are drained, I can fold them in pretty easily without stirring too much.   Ta da!  done in less than 20 minutes.

What tricks do you have for potato salad?