Oil and Water DO Mix - The Science of Mayonnaise
Written by Translator on May 14, 2008 – 7:49 pm -Pull out your jar of Hellmanns’ or whatever, and read the ingredient statement. Remember that ingredients are listed in order by amount in the product. The first one on my jar is “soybean oil”, followed by “water”. So what gives? Why do not the oil and water separate like they do when you make oil and vinegar (vinegar is about 95% water) dressing? The answer is the third ingredient, the egg. Specifically, egg yolk.
Egg yolk contains, amongst other things, a material called “lecithin”, which is an emulsifying agent, like soap. Lecithin molecules have one end that is water soluble (”hydrophilic” in chemistry lingo) and another end that is oil soluble (”hydrophobic). When egg yolk is mixed with oil and water and stirred or beaten vigorously, the lecithin literally sticks its hydrophilic end in the water droplets, making a sphere of lecithin spikes sticking out of the small water droplets. The ends sticking out are hydrophobic, and dissolve in the oil. (It would work the other way, but due to how mayonnaise is made, it the water that gets the lecithin first). These aggregates of water and lecithin are called “micelles” and essentially hide the water in an oil soluble material.
Soap does exactly the same thing, because it has a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic end, as do synthetic detergents. That is why grease and oil can be washed away using soap. According to evolutionary biology, these simple micelles are the precursor to the modern cell membrane, with is essentially a double layer of micelles, that is, a micelle within a micelle.
With mayonnaise, vinegar and/or lemon juice is added, along with salt, for flavor. Commercial mayonnaise often contains a sweetener and some proprietary spices, along with a preservative, usually calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). EDTA is not really that bad for you, and is used as a drug to remove excess calcium in a condition called hypercalcemia (the tetrasodium one is used for that) or the remove certain heavy metals in cases of poisoning. In mayonnaise, it combines (”chelates”) with iron and other metals that would tend to make the mayonnaise separate and tend to go rancid quickly, since the mayonnaise on the store shelf sits there for some time, and in your refrigerator for a long time after you open it.
It is easy to make mayonnaise at home, and I recommend it IF you can find a source of eggs for which you can be reasonably certain are not contaminated with salmonella. Commercial mayonnaise is pasteurized, so that is not a risk. If you can assure a supply of safe eggs, here is a simple and fast recipe. It makes a pint. I do not recommend making more since there are no preservatives. It is so quick to make that even if you run out, you are only a couple of minutes away from fresh.
Basic Mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar (I like half and half)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 3/4 cup vegetable oil (use a bland one, like soy)
While you can make mayonnaise by hand, now and then a batch will fail, and it takes quite a while and a whole lot of whisking. Place everything except the oil in a blender or food processor, and process for a few seconds.
Add a couple of tablespoons of oil and process until the mixture is homogeneous (I am not talking about da Vinci)
While processing continuously, slowly add a thin stream of oil such that it is all taken up as it is added. If you see any separation, stop adding oil and process until the mixture is homogeneous again, then resume adding oil. After about half of the oil has been added, you will notice the mixture beginning to thicken. Here is where a food processor is a little better than a blender because the geometry of the processor is better for thick mixtures. If the blender is not mixing completely, stop and use a rubber spatula to mix, then continue adding oil.
You want to work quickly to keep from heating the mayonnaise up any more than possible. After the oil has all been blended in, put the product in a clean glass Mason jar, cap, and refrigerate. It will keep until you use it up if you keep it cold.
It has taken longer to describe how to make mayonnaise than it does to make it.
Variations:
After finishing the mayonnaise, you can blend in prepared horseradish to taste. Excellent with beef, hot or cold.
You can add extra mustard, either yellow, Poupon, or hot Chinese.
For a novel red appearance, you can puree a cooked beet or two with the initial ingredients before the oil is added. Reduce oil by one tablespoon for each beet.
For a novel green appearance, you can do the same with some freshly cooked spinach or spinach cooking water.
If you want yellow mayonnaise, add some turmeric before the oil.
My personal preference is not to add any sweetener to mayonnaise, but you may prefer a little sugar in it, or some Karo. I like it plain, but I also prefer vanilla ice cream. Any experiences with variations on this recipe are welcome, as are other comments or criticisms. Warmest regards, Doc.
Update: Here is a sketch of a micelle.
Tags: Condiment, Food, Mayonnaise, Micelle
Posted in Diaries |
Hi Doc,
Is olive oil acceptable?
For people afraid of salmonella in the raw eggs, two other possibilities are powdered egg yolks and Davidson’s eggs, which are whole fresh eggs pasteurized in the shell. (They taste absolutely terrible when eaten as eggs, but they work for eggnog and mayonnaise and other foods that call for raw eggs.)
That is an excellent suggestion! Of course, the best way to guarantee wholesome eggs is to raise one’s own chickens, as we did when I was a boy (chickens had only recently separated from dinosaurs on the evolutionary scale then), or find an organic raiser who is willing to allow you to come and check out the henhouse.
Chickens raised with adequate space, in clean places, and with a good deal of running space almost never carry salmonella. It is the crowed crowded, must be Freudian thinking of the roosters,
conditions, artificial feed additives, and, on the part of producers, trying to squeeze the nickel until the buffalo hollers that create the problem.
Just one more point and I will shut up about it. Even if your carefully raised chickens happen to have salmonella, if they have not been fed antibiotics chronically, the chances are good that any infection that you might contract would be easily treatable. Warmest regards, Doc.
Thanks. My chickens meet all the requirements that you have stated. On with the mayo!
My Grandmum kept chickens until she was in her 80’s. She had a henhouse that was about 15 by 30 feet (5 by 10 metres for those outside of the US) and about 8 feet (2.5 metres) high. On one wall were the nesting boxes with the “nest egg” in each, and in the middle were the poles, about 20 feet (7 metres) long, supported at various levels on which for them to roost.
Outside she had a pen about 50 by 150 feet (17 by 50 metres) with ten foot (3 metre) chicken wire for them to run during the day. She never had more than two dozen at a time.
Sometimes the chickens would try to escape the pen, usually at dusk, and roost in the surrounding trees, so she would catch them and clip feathers off of their wings with scissors to prevent them flying. I also remember that there were a couple of Great Horned Owls that would greedily eat any chicken that it could catch.
She fed her chickens a mixture of “chops”, which was coarse crushed corn, any scrap greens from her garden, and, about at the rate of 25 pounds a month for the two dozen chickens, “laying mash” that was essentially a commercial cereal product with vitamins and minerals. Oh, yes, and the oyster shells.
Fond memories. I used to gather the eggs twice a day before and after school when I was little. Warmest regards, Doc.
If you like how it tastes, sure. I prefer something a little more bland, but if you like it, go for it! Just do not use Penzoil! Warmest regards, Doc.
Doc,
You’ve got the Fannie Farmer touch. My 1924 and 1965 Cookbooks both say you are right. No sugar is needed. Not like today. Olive oil is acceptable. The only other ingredients she suggests are dry mustard and cayenne to taste. Fannie likes vinegar and if you are using olive oil, add 1 tsp hot water. I love it when a plan comes together. You are the greatest!
Thank you very much for your extremely kind words. Speaking of cookbooks, I have my Mum’s 1940 printing of the Household Searchlight Cook Book, but I am sure that there are lots of them. What makes mine unique is that on the blank pages in the back are handwritten recipes by my Mum herself, in fountain pen. That makes it special.
I like the cayenne idea. That would pep it up a bit, and give it some color. I suspect that Fannie was not a calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid fan, either. I just love saying that word! Warmest regards, Doc.
Oh My Goodness, DOC!
I can’t believe it! I have my Mother’s 1934 edition of the Household Searchlight CookBook. She also used the blank pages for personal recipes like: Karo Cocoanut Pie, Seven Minute Icing (always on my birthday cake), tartar sauce(ohh, with a kick!), Devil’s Food Cake, and many others. WoW what we have in common! I just love looking and collecting all the old recipes. I make a Fannie Farmer Bread and Butter pickle that is the best.
Best to you
Thank you! That is a very interesting coincidence, especially considering that I am male and we are not supposed to cook. Mine is the 1940 printing of the 1937 edition. Yours is as precious as mine because your Mum wrote in it. I also have her childhood bible that my brother sold at a yard sale after my Dad died.
A neighbor and friend was kind enough to give it to me and would not even take the fifty cents from me to reimburse her for what she paid for it.
Books are important, and will not go away, even with our casual exchange of electrons. Warmest regards, Doc.
I’m glad you have the books and memories that go along with them. I have documented my family over the years with letters, bibles, cookbooks, newspaper articles, pictures and slides. It’s great to be able to do this for the next generation or just for yourself. Posterity is a muse.
My cookbook is the 1934 edition of the original 1931 edition. I am pretty sure that she got it when she and my Dad married in 1934. The spine is falling apart, but I wouldn’t trade it for gold. Like you, it’s a treasure beyond all bounds.
Spend a little money and take it to a rare book restoration outfit. I am sure that there are some near you online. I would fear that the acidic paper would be worse than the spine. Warmest regards, Doc.
I am still angry with my brother for selling my Mum’s bible for 50 cents. It means more than money can to me, but to him it was an object. But he is a rich stock broker. Warmest regards, Doc.
This is a hoot- my Mom’s name is Ethel!
All I can think of is how sexy the word micelle is…I knew I liked mayonnaise for more than a couple of reasons!
Heh. And I, being a sci-fi geek, saw “nacelles“.
They have to be in even pairs. Roddenberry forbade odd numbers of then. He was a visionary. Warmest regards, Doc.
Micelle, my Belle, these are words that go together well…., well not quite, but a very nice earworm. Warmest regards, Doc.
I will try to insert a sketch of the a micelle here. Wish me luck! Warmest regards, Doc.
No luck inserting the sketch either here or in the main post, oh well. Warmest regards, Doc.
I did, in the body of the diary. Micelle, ma belle, indeed!
Thanks! That is much better picture than my crude, hand drawn one was. Warmest regards, Doc.
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