“Mayonnaise sauce is best served separately in a tureen or sauce boat with the salad either cut up or the lettuce in pieces.”
Australian Enquiry Book of Household and General Information
for the Cottage, the Villa and the Bush Home
by Mrs Lance Rawson
first published by Pater & Knapton, in 1894.
Facsimile edition reproduced by kind permission
of the State Library of New South Wales, 1984, by Kangaroo Press
Ingredients: 3 or 4 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls salad oil*, 1 teaspoonful vinegar, pepper, salt.
Strain the yolks of the eggs into a basin, and set it in a cool place – in the ice chest if you have one.
(well, yes Mrs Rawson...I am somewhat fortunate, and I do indeed have an ice chest. Although they're called refrigerators now.)
Let it stand an hour or two, and then take a spoon and begin to stir round and round (not to beat).
Add salt, stirring well; then a few drops at a time of the salad oil. The quantity of oil depends on individual taste; some people like a lot of oil.
When half the oil is well mixed, put in in the same way some good vinegar and keep adding oil and vinegar in these proportions until you get sauce the thickness of thick cream, then add pepper and more salt, if necessary.
The oil and vinegar must be added by degrees or they will not blend smoothly and the amount of both will depend upon the quantity of sauce, and also the consistency you like it.
At this point I abandoned the good counsel of Mrs Rawson. The mayonnaise was looking a little like beaten egg yolks and tasted just like them too.
Australian Enquiry Book of Household and General Information
for the Cottage, the Villa and the Bush Home
by Mrs Lance Rawson
first published by Pater & Knapton, in 1894.
Facsimile edition reproduced by kind permission
of the State Library of New South Wales, 1984, by Kangaroo Press
Mayonnaise is one of those foods that I’d always suspected probably tastes better if you make it from scratch, but I’d never actually done so. Then I spotted a recipe for it in Mrs Rawson’s book. (The instructions in italics under each photo are Mrs Rawson’s)
Ingredients: 3 or 4 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls salad oil*, 1 teaspoonful vinegar, pepper, salt. Strain the yolks of the eggs into a basin, and set it in a cool place – in the ice chest if you have one.
(well, yes Mrs Rawson...I am somewhat fortunate, and I do indeed have an ice chest. Although they're called refrigerators now.)
Let it stand an hour or two, and then take a spoon and begin to stir round and round (not to beat).
Add salt, stirring well; then a few drops at a time of the salad oil. The quantity of oil depends on individual taste; some people like a lot of oil.
When half the oil is well mixed, put in in the same way some good vinegar and keep adding oil and vinegar in these proportions until you get sauce the thickness of thick cream, then add pepper and more salt, if necessary.
The oil and vinegar must be added by degrees or they will not blend smoothly and the amount of both will depend upon the quantity of sauce, and also the consistency you like it.
At this point I abandoned the good counsel of Mrs Rawson. The mayonnaise was looking a little like beaten egg yolks and tasted just like them too.
So I took to the bowl with a whisk to lighten the colour and aerate the mixture.
To deal with the lack of taste, I added the juice of half a lemon.
And a teaspoonful of Dijon mustard.
I used the finished mayonnaise on a Waldorf salad. In spite in their initial skepticism, the household’s verdict was that it was worth the effort involved. I'm not sure it would meet with the approval of mayonnaise purists, but we thought the taste was more acceptable with the addition of the lemon and mustard.
* Salad oil is any edible vegetable oil: corn oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, olive oil etc. I used an Australian extra virgin olive oil.
I used the finished mayonnaise on a Waldorf salad. In spite in their initial skepticism, the household’s verdict was that it was worth the effort involved. I'm not sure it would meet with the approval of mayonnaise purists, but we thought the taste was more acceptable with the addition of the lemon and mustard.
* Salad oil is any edible vegetable oil: corn oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, olive oil etc. I used an Australian extra virgin olive oil.
8 comments:
I love home made mayo but will admit to cheating and mixing it with my braun blender.
And mayo on the side is a must because I prefer much less mayo on my salad to most.
I know years ago they used raw eggs in foods that was not cooked. But, in this day and age, I would be afraid to eat mayo, or anything else with raw eggs in, if it wasn't cooked first. I would not like being sick with salmonella!
That looks like hard work. Were you arms tired? How long did you whisk the eggs?
Does the acid in the vinegar kill off any potential salmonella? I've never heard of anyone contracting it from mayonnaise.
I used to make homemade mayo because it tastes so goddamn good .. but I felt with the effort, and the cost of the olive oil, it was probably cheaper and easier to buy the damn stuff made.
What does she mean "strain the eggs?" Did you press the yolks through a sieve into the bowl?
I have no fear of raw eggs if they are fresh.
I have never made my own mayo but I really must try it because many of the store bought options are becoming less and less palatable with their chemical-filled ingredient lists.
Stomper, I think by 'strain the eggs' she means separate the yolks from the whites.
I hate receipes that let you add to your own taste... or your own determination of consistancy. I never know if I am adding too much or too little... THATS why I am following a RECIPE! Your additions sound needed though.
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