To be absolutely safe, I heat the egg to prevent salmonella.
Water and sugar help prevent the egg from coagulating when carefully heated. You can skip this step if you use pasteurized eggs. I like to add a little minced jalapeno and ginger root to make a chili-ginger mayonnaise, but other spices or herbs can also be added to make different kinds of flavored mayonnaise.
1 large egg
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 scant teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne, optional
1 cup canola oil
1. Beat egg well with lemon juice, 1 tablespoon water and sugar. Heat mixture in a small skillet over very low heat, stirring and scraping bottom of pan constantly with a spatula. When bubbles appear around edge of pan, or at the first sign of thickening, remove pan from heat but continue stirring.
2. Dip pan bottom in a large pan of cold water to stop cooking. Scrape contents into a blender, blend for a second or so and then let stand, uncovered, at least 5 minutes to cool.
3. Add dry mustard, salt and cayenne, if using, and cover. With blender running, drizzle in oil, very slowly at first and then a little faster until combined.
4. Transfer mayonnaise to a clean container and chill immediately. It will keep 7 days covered and refrigerated.
Copyright Shirley O. Corriher, 1990.
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