I'm the kind of person who for some things in life follows the theory of jump first and ask questions later.

I've made (and consumed) two batches of home-made mayo, and while I don't think I've got my recipe perfected yet, I'm liking the fact that I know what's in it and not in it.

But my wife is raising concerns about the raw egg. I'm not terribly concerned, but her mother got salmonella once from chicken and has terrible horror stories that convince me that I don't want to get it.

No problems so far, but I'm guessing the board members here have made a LOT more mayo than I probably ever will, and have n=1 experience of not getting sick. Would love to hear about it, and also any scientificish info about why I maybe shouldn't be afraid of it.

Thanks in advance!

I've heard of you NEMarvin! Welcome!

I have not had any problems. I use one egg yolk per batch and use it within 2 weeks or so. I did tend some chickens for a few weeks a couple of times and had to collect eggs so I kind of know what goes on in the coup and it rhymes coup.

I wash eggs I'm going to use on the outside well and use an egg cracking method that doesn't introduce any shell back into the egg. I use to crack on side of bowl until my good friend Jacques Pepin showed me the more better way (down on cutting board). Also, make sure your hand are "impeccably clean" as my other good friend Julia Child says in her sassy tone as I let the egg white run thru my fingers to capture the yolk.

Good Luck!!!

Blender Mayo



I read various other resources which mentioned bringing the egg up to temp that would destroy bacteria. Personally, I believe that only those with compromised immune systems need to fear eggs as long as you follow basic kitchen sanitation policy. i.e. keep the eggs refrigerated until time to use, etc.

I remember reading somewhere that approx. 1 egg out of 20,000 - or some such high number - has salmonella in it; and also that only a few people of those infected actually get any symptoms. Those seem like pretty good odds to me. That said, now that I have a flock of hens on the property I do tend to choose the freshest eggs for mayonnaise and other raw/undercooked recipes. But in the past I've used supermarket eggs without a qualm. I wouldn't now though, but not because of salmonella, but because I don't buy supermarket eggs for ethical reasons. As bluesinger mentions, people with impaired immune systems should probably avoid even this relatively small risk.

Thank you. What has been said to this point is exactly what I've been thinking. My wife won't be eating it because a) she's concerned about it, and b) she is the "canary in the coal mine" in our house when it comes to being sensitive to something environmental, allergenic, or bacterial.


And Thud, I've already conferred with Jacques so that I do that part right. I use the whole egg in mine....should I just be using the yolks?

Both work I hear. I'm a novice at this too and have only used yolks so far.

My family has been making home-made mayo for generations (my mother was French) and none of us have died from eating raw eggs...YET!

So Enjoy your mayo!

BTW: We only use the yolks!

To compromise with wife, you can "coddle the egg"...not something I have ever done, nor have I brought ingredients to room temp, nor washed shells, etc. and like Jo, we are still here and kicking. n=1 though

This recipe works well just by putting a whole egg and other ingredients in a jar and whizzing it up. Less than 2 minutes.
http://www.everydaymaven.com/2014/h...ake-mayonnaise/

She would not like this at all, but I read something about not over cooking yolks because it degrades the nutrients, so for breakfast the egg whites are cooked but the yolks, barely warm. It's a primal thing

Janet, that is my basic recipe but this one looks a bit more interesting. Love the stick blender for this!

Last time I made it I worried about drizzling the olive oil in. I had egg and lemon juice at room temp, plus a 1/4 cup of oil and the seasonings in the jar. Blended that. Then just added the rest of the oil and it was perfect and very little effort. The most difficult part of the job is scraping off the may that sticks to the blender, and that's not that bad.

I will keep on making it just because I think it's healthier for me. She won't share in it, but that's okay. She doesn't really eat that much mayo anyway.

And she will eat an "over medium" egg with me....but when it comes to everything else she loves it well done. And yes, I get the nutrient part.

Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats (he has the best name ) explains the science of why a stick blender mimics dribbling the oil in, so adding slowly not needed.. http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/10/...utes-or-le.html

Hasn't failed for me yet... egg, lemon and mustard straight from fridge, the room temp light olive oil rises to top after a minute, keep the blender blade at bottom until the last finishing pull up. I only make new mayo when have run out so the reminder on the blade get scraped right onto the food, and the jar used has a screw top so the rest goes straight back into fridge. I even marked the side of the jar for 1 cup so no measuring cup to wash. Good luck...it gets easier each time

perfect. I'm using a pint, wide mouth canning jar, and I will put the same mark on mine! And yes, that's what I did last night...mayo from the blender went right on to the lettuce leaf.

I've been making homemade mayo for probably 30+ years in my processor and never had any problems. I do get it into the refrigerator fast and keep it there until ready to use/consume. I date the jar lid and toss out any still left after 10 days. We've never gotten sick from anything I could tract to my homemade mayo to my knowledge.