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Basic Mayonnaise

A sauce made by emulsifying egg yolks, lemon juice or vinegar, mustard, salt, and oil.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,816 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Basic Mayonnaise

1 cup (230 g)

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Beat the egg yolk with a wire whisk for about a minute.

  2. Add the mustard, salt, and half the lemon juice.

  3. Whisk for another minute; the mixture should thicken very slightly.

Emulsify the oil

  1. Very slowly add half the oil with one hand while whisking with the other.

  2. Start drop by drop, incorporating each drop before adding the next, and build up to a trickle.

  3. Keep whisking until the oil is incorporated.

  4. Add the rest of the lemon juice.

  5. Whisk to combine.

  6. Add the rest of the oil in the same manner as before.

  7. Keep whisking until all the oil is incorporated.

Finish

  1. Stir in flavourings such as crushed garlic, if desired.

  2. Use the mayonnaise as a base for other sauces, if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

215Calories
7 gProtein
19 gFat
5 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lemon + mustardtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,816 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  3. Egg + mustardtop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,210 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Egg lecithin binds oil and water, forming a stable, thick emulsion.
Oil
Supplies fat that, dispersed in droplets, gives the sauce its rich body.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens flavour and helps keep the emulsion stable.
Dijon mustard
Its mucilage helps stabilise the emulsion and adds a sharp flavour.

The step that matters

Adding the oil slowly. Oil must be added drop by drop at first so each droplet is coated by egg yolk before more oil arrives. Adding it too fast breaks the emulsion, so the mayonnaise stays runny or separates.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, lemon):

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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