Ruhlman's Twenty (18 page)

Surely one of the greatest examples of using the egg as a tool is its potential to change the texture of oil. With some vigorous agitation, you can transform clear, flavorless, fluid cooking oil into a rich, thick, creamy sauce. The key to making this happen is water (or some sort of water-based liquid, such as lemon juice) and a molecule called lecithin, abundant in egg yolk. When, with a whisk or a blade, you break the oil into countless infinitesimal orbs to create a mayonnaise, the reason they don’t bunch back up and cohere into one fluid mass is because the teensy orbs are separated by even thinner sheets of water. What keeps the water from giving way is a molecule that has one part attracted to fat (the oil orb) and one part attracted to the water.

The result is one of the most wonderful culinary transformations I know. It’s different enough from store-bought mayonnaise that you will want to make the extra effort to prepare it— though very little effort is involved. If you use the hand-blender method, you can make mayonnaise faster than it takes you to walk the length of the condiments aisle at the grocery store. And while you are down that aisle, note that store-bought mayonnaise often contains, in addition to the required ingredients, sugar, vinegar, and “natural flavors,” along with preservatives and stabilizers. You can taste the vinegar and sense the sugar, and the consistency has an almost gelled stiffness.

Homemade mayo, on the other hand, is so voluptuous that it’s almost sexual. The flavor is so good that you could, and may, eat the mayo straight off the spoon, but add anything you like. A pinch of cayenne pepper gives it a nice piquancy.
Macerated shallot will make it an unbeatable dipping sauce
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1 teaspoon water

2 teaspoons lemon juice, plus more as needed

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 large egg yolk

¾ to 1 cup/180 to 240 milliliters canola or other vegetable oil

To make mayonnaise using a whisk: In a large metal or glass bowl, combine the water, lemon juice, salt, and egg yolk. Measure 1 cup/240 milliliters of the oil in a cup with a spout that will allow you to pour it in a thin stream. Whisk the yolk to disperse it and, whisking continuously, add 2 or 3 drops of oil. Continuing to whisk, pour the oil in a steady stream into the bowl. Once you’ve added about ¼ cup/60 milliliters, you can pour the oil a little faster until all of the oil is incorporated.

If the mayonnaise breaks, as it will occasionally, pour it into the measuring cup, clean the bowl, put 1 teaspoon water in the bowl, and begin again, first whisking in a few drops of the broken sauce, then increasing the rate you add the remainder.

To make mayonnaise using a hand blender: Combine the water, lemon juice, salt, and egg yolk in a 2-cup/480-milliliter glass measure (the blender’s blade must get close enough to the bottom of the measure to blend the yolk; if yours doesn’t, use the whisk attachment). Mix briefly with the blender. Measure ¾ cup/180 milliliters of the oil in a cup with a spout that will allow you to pour it in a thin stream. With the blender running, pour the oil into the yolk mixture, moving the blender up and down to incorporate all the oil.

To make mayonnaise using a food processor: Combine the water, lemon juice, salt, and egg yolk in the bowl of a food processor. Measure 1 cup/240 milliliters of the oil in a cup with a spout that will allow you to pour it in a thin stream. Turn on the processor and pour in the oil.

Taste the mayonnaise and add more lemon juice if you wish.