Separated mayonnaise after being frozen during shipping
In our mid-sized family of five adults and teens, mayonnaise is a kitchen staple. We use it for much more than just sandwiches. We use it in place of butter on bread for grilled cheese for a deliciously crispy sandwich, and in recipes like Ranch Dressing, Potato Salad, Coleslaw, Deviled Eggs, and more. Typically, I stock up on Hellman’s from Costco. We like its tangy flavor, and the cost and convenience fit our busy household. However, I’ve long been thinking about a switch to homemade since we avoid canola oil, and other brands do not cut it. My most recent purchase helped with that; when I opened the container, I found it had separated, likely frozen during delivery. Yay for Canadian winters!
Faced with an unusable jar and no mayonnaise in the house, I decided it was time to try making my own. I’d knew it wasn’t difficult, and thanks to our backyard chickens, we’re never short on fresh eggs. The only oil we had on hand was peanut oil, so I found a highly rated recipe that called for simple ingredients: an egg, peanut oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. I hesitated to use peanut oil—sure it would make the mayo too heavy—but curiosity got the better of me. The result? Mayonnaise… sort of. The texture was right, but the taste did lean heavily into “oily.”
Not one to give up easily, I decided to experiment with sunflower oil for round two. This time, I tried a recipe that called for vinegar, dry mustard, salt, and paprika, and I used 2 eggs for 1 cup of oil. The sunflower oil brought a much lighter flavor, closer to the store-bought mayo we love. While it still wasn’t an exact match, it felt like progress—a base to build upon.
While I intellectually knew making mayonnaise would be easy with an immersion blender, without having done it before, it didn’t sink in just how fast and easy it is. It takes just minutes to transform a few simple ingredients into creamy mayo. Suddenly, the whole process felt less like a hassle and more like an adventure. Sure, finding the perfect combination of ingredients might cost a bit in trial and error, but the control over the quality of the oil and the absence of preservatives make it worth the effort.
While I haven’t yet landed on the ideal recipe, I’m excited about the possibilities. I’m glad I got this push to make homemade and get away from one more source of mediocre, mass produced, junk food. Stay tuned as I continue my mayo-making journey! Eventually, I’ll find the right balance of ingredients to achieve that perfect, tangy flavor we love—and when I do, you can bet I’ll be sharing it. Until then, I’ll keep blending, tasting, and learning.
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