Healthy Immersion Blender Mayo

Smooth, creamy mayo can be the base to a homemade sauce or its your classic sandwich condiment. This pantry staple recipe will be your ultimate healthy mayo base.

Not to mention it’s a money saver since a jar of avocado mayo can be anywhere from $8-$19 depending on the size and if you shop at Walmart or Safeway. I buy my avocado oil at Costco to maximize the budget and this recipe comes out to about $3.60 for the avocado oil and the egg (spices are too small to measure). 

What do I need to make my own Immersion Blender Mayo?

• Avocado oil – Costco sells them in a big 67 oz bottle
• Egg – buy an organic, pasture raised egg for utmost nutrition
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Pink salt or Sea salt
• Black Pepper
• Nutritional Yeast
• Dijon Mustard
• Ground Yellow Mustard – optional, but gives even more flavor
• Liquid Whey – optional, but recommended. This is the liquid that separates from your yogurt. Doesn’t have to be homemade yogurt, my store bought greek yogurt separates every time.

How long does homemade mayo last?

If you’ve ever made mayo before, the shelf life on it is way too short. Since we are using a raw egg to thicken the mayo, its recommended fridge life is up to 4 days. This is due to the risk of pathogens and if you remember from biology class, these are organisms that can grow disease. From personal experience, I have seen homemade mayo last longer than that with no problems but some people might be uncomfortable with this.

Options you have for making homemade mayo safer would be to cook the egg beforehand. Some recipes will cook, also known as pasteurize, an egg to kill any possible pathogens. In order to do this, you’ll have to add a liquid to the egg to keep the mixture in a liquid form. 

Do I need the liquid whey for this immersion blender mayo?

To answer the question directly, no, you do not need the liquid whey for this recipe. I’ve made mayo plenty of times without this ingredient and everything turns out great. The purpose of adding liquid whey is to extend the shelf life. Making mayo is a quick process but the recipe only lasts for about a week. Some weeks I’ll go through a whole recipe, but other times I don’t use a full cup of mayo.

So what is the liquid whey for? It’s a type of preservation and that’s to ferment your mayo. I’ve done some reading into this subject because I already ferment bread (AKA Sourdough bread) so why not ferment mayo? I’ve learned that making sourdough bread uses the “backslopping” method of fermentation.

What is “backslopping”?

This is where you take a substance from one fermented recipe and add it to a fresh batch in order to ferment the new recipe. (Read more about it here)

Taking the liquid whey off of greek yogurt is using this same “backslopping” method. I’ve read that adding this liquid whey into your homemade mayo extends the fridge life if you first allow the mayo to sit at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours before you refrigerate. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is if this process does what I’m looking for it to do. 

If this “backslopping” method works for mayo, how do the organisms from the liquid whey have anything to consume? Mayo is made from oil, egg, spices and mustard. These foods are not high in carbohydrates so what exactly is the fuel source for the organisms? If you know the science behind this, please comment below and share. If you decide to try this method, I would suggest adding a small amount of sugar to your mayo. This will ensure you have some carbohydrate in the mixture for the fermentation process to work.

Do I have to make this with an Immersion Blender?

An immersion blender is not a requirement of homemade mayo. Some recipes will call for a blender, others say you can make mayo with just a whisk. My preferred method will always be an immersion blender. I don’t have the hand strength or the patience to make mayo with a whisk. When it comes to blending with a blender, I never get the mayo to set up and turn creamy. I find an Immersion blender is the most reliable and easy to clean up from.

How do I blend this immersion blender mayo right on the first try? What’s the secret?

Room temperature eggs! No one gave this secret to me so I’m starting you off on the right foot. Taking the time to bring your egg to room temperature by having one sit in a bowl of warm water is worth your time. I will bring the egg out of the fridge and start warming up before I make the mayo. I’ve found anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes in warm water will remove the chill off the egg and I’ve had a very successful track record of thick, set mayo each time.

Another tip for set immersion blender mayo is to blend the egg first. Once all the ingredients are in the jar, be sure to hold the immersion blender to the bottom of the jar. Your egg is going to settle to the bottom so blend that on low. 

After a few seconds, it starts to turn white and blend in with the oil and seasonings. Pull the immersion blender up slowing and start adding more and more oil to this mixture. Then you can start to increase the speed of the immersion blender until you’ve reached high speed. Within a minute or two, you’ll have your finished product: healthy immersion blender mayo.  

What if I don’t want to use an egg? Can this become a vegan mayo?

A few years ago, I had to cut everything out of my diet. Eggs were apart of that long list of foods and so I had to figure out how to make any creamy dressings for myself. After searching the internet, I read a vegan mayo recipe where they made mayo without and egg. It sounds strange but, do you have a can of garbanzo beans in the pantry? Go ahead and open it. You’re going to use the cloudy, liquid the beans have been canned in, this liquid is called aquafaba. 

Aquafaba is a really unique ingredient. People have made cookies and mayo without eggs, they’ve even made meringue! But, if you want to cut out the egg, using aquafaba is the answer. If you’re unfamiliar with it, go ahead and read more about it here.

If I don’t have apple cider vinegar on hand, what do I use instead?

We buy a 3 bottle set of apple cider vinegar from Costco so we always have more than enough on hand. A lot of recipes on the internet will have you use lemon juice but, fresh lemon juice is not something I always have on hand. 

The nice thing about homemade mayo is the ability to use what you have. Go ahead and use any vinegar or citrus juice. Now I might suggest avoiding orange juice because that might have a strange underlying taste. I would recommend white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice.

Purpose of the Plate – Avocado Oil

Vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and corn oil are all commonly found oils. The latest information on these oils is they are bad for you. Why? It’s because these oils are considered omega-6 fatty acids. We as humans need all three types of fatty acids: omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9, but it’s the omega-3 and omega-6 that are considered essential because our bodies cannot produce them on their own.

Omega-3 is crucial for supporting our metabolism, heart and brain, to give a few examples. Since we are forced to get omega-3 from our diet, it’s important to know what foods are high in them and to add these foods to our plate everyday. 

Omega-6 is mostly known as an energy source and not as powerful a tool as omega-3. As with many things in life, we take things out of balance. If Western culture would better balance their omega-6 and omega-3 ratios, we could see a decrease in disease and sickness. 

It’s been suggested a 1:1 or up to a 4:1 ratio would be best. Unfortunately, we currently sit between a 15:1 and 16.7:1 ratio. If you’d like to read more about it, check out this website.

Gaining all this knowledge, I’ve decided an easy switch for mayo is to avoid omega-6 oils and use avocado oil instead. My overall goal is to get my diet within that 1:1 and 4:1 ratio of omega-3 verse omega-6 fatty acids. What I cook with in my kitchen is a much easier change to make rather than removing all processed foods containing vegetable or sunflower oil.