making mayonnaise {tuscany}

Even though I’ve written about the joys of home made mayonnaise in the past, it bears repeating. One reason is that it’s just so good. Another reason is due to the fact that I’ve recently had a personal revelation about mayonnaise.

And yes, this  epiphany now allows me to eat mayonnaise more often, without feeling the guilt of consuming something way too rich, too good and just a tad too fattening.

My moment of clarity occurred while I was visiting a friend who had rented a house in Tuscany for the week. While the house came with gorgeous views of the sea, an infinity pool and  beautifully designed and decorated rooms, the best part – at least for me – was that it came with a truly excellent cook.

Viviana is one of those people that you meet in Italy who is not only passionate about food, but can make outrageously delicious meals in a seemingly effortless manner.

For dinner the first night, she prepared one of the best spaghetti alle vongole I have ever eaten in my life. Followed by a simply perfect grilled spigola (sea bass). The spigola, as per local custom, was to be accompanied by a dish of luscious home made mayonnaise.

Of course I took the opportunity to see how Viviana turned a handful of ingredients into a light and fluffy maionese. I hung out in the kitchen with her and followed every step not only with my eyes, but with my video camera. As she beat things up, we chatted about her views on this iconic condiment. “I prefer a mixture of both olive oil and seed oil,” she said, “If I use 100% olive oil it comes out tasting too strong for the fish.” Since all she had was olive oil, she went ahead and used that, but wasn’t very happy about it. A quick taste test at the end revealed that the mayo did taste like olive oil, but (at least in my opinion) in a very good way.

Later that night, after we had finished the meal, and were contentedly sipping an after dinner grappa, Viviana came out from the kitchen to the table with a sad face. “I have something terrible to tell you Elisabetta.” I was imagining the worst. Car won’t start? House ran out of water? (this happens in Italy). “I forgot to serve the maionese.”

The spigola had been so delicious,  that none of us had missed it in the least.  And since it was still sitting in its tightly wrapped dish in the refrigerator, I still wanted to have my share.  So Viviana and I came up with a lunch menu for the next day that would allow us all heaping spoonfuls:  A simple salad of string beans, potatoes and hard boiled eggs.

All was going well the next day,  as Viviana prepared the salad for lunch. Until she opened the refrigerator to bring the mayonnaise to the table and SLPAT! The entire bowl slipped out of the fridge and  crashed onto the floor. “Well, this mayonnaise just doesn’t want to be eaten.” observed Viviana with a straight face.

Unruffled, she simply cracked open a few eggs, got out the olive oil and within about five minutes, another bowl of creamy goodness was ready for the table.

But getting back to my mayo revelation. After having watched Viviana beat the ingredients into the perfect consistency twice, I realized that mayonnaise was really no worse in terms of richness and/or calories than a few egg yolks and some olive oil. And in fact, with the correct amount of beating, the process also incorporated a lot of air into the mixture. In other words, a cup of olive oil, becomes two cups of mayonnaise. With the help of air and a couple of egg yolks, olive oil is miraculously transformed into olive oil lite.

Ok, I know I’m stretching things a bit. But not so much.

In any case, it was a complete pleasure to watch Viviana work her magic with a few ingredients and one mixer. And an even bigger pleasure to beat the odds and finally eat the mayonnaise that didn’t want to get eaten.

viviana’s mayonnaise

3 egg yolks
1 cup of olive oil (more or less)*
pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

*Viviana and I had a long discussion about using olive oil in making mayonnaise. Viviana likes to use a mixture of half olive oil, and half sunflower (or some other neutral) oil. The first batch she made she used only olive oil, because she was out of sunflower oil. I loved it, she thought it tasted too strong. The second day she used half and half. It’s really a matter of not only taste, but also about the specific taste of your olive oil. You definitely don’t want an overwhelmingly fruity strong olive oil here. Or maybe you do. It’s kind of up to you. 
Also, the amount of oil is up to you. She says some people make it with up to a liter of olive oil with this amount of eggs. That, she says, makes it too heavy and too oily tasting. She finds the perfect balance at this ratio.

Place egg yolks in a small bowl. Using an electric mixer, begin to beat the eggs. When they have doubled in volume, and have become a light yellow, begin to add the olive oil

Add the olive oil slowly, in a thin stream. Don’t add too much, since you want the ooil to emulsify, and not separate. Once you’ve added all the olive oil, keep beating, adding air into the mixture. When the mixture starts to look creamy and thick, add the lemon juice, and continue beating. The juice will thin out the mayo a bit, so you may have to add a bit more oil to thicken it up.

Add the salt, beat some more, and then add the vinegar.

Taste and correct for seasoning. You may like yours more or less lemony.