This recipe uses more egg yolk than is normally recommended. This is because mayonnaise is not healthy but at least if there is more yolk then there is a little more nutrients in it.

All ingredients need to be room temperature. This helps the emulsification of yolk with oil.

4 pasteurized egg yolks (cos folk are funny about eggs and this way, there are no arguments)
250 ml Oil (I like grape seed because it’s neutral in flavour, but suit yourself and measure in a jug because it makes life easier when pouring later).
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp White wine vinegar.

1. Sterilize a jam jar, large enough for you to fit your whisker in (Use the electric whisker cos life’s too short to stand there whisking for 20 minutes).
2. Add a dash of salt and pepper in the jar and then the egg yolks.
3. Start whisking the yolks and when you start to see a colour change (they get lighter), then start slowly adding oil, a little at a time. As you add the oil, it will get whisked into the yolk and form an emulsion, which will become stiffer as you add the oil. The oil must be added slowly, otherwise it will not have change to mix properly and you end up with oily egg.
4. Once all the oil is added and you have a creamy mix that looks like mayonnaise add 1 tsp Dijon and then 2 tsp vinegar, in that order so you only dirty one teaspoon.
5. Mix again so it’s all blended in an taste. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Then put in the fridge if your not gonna eat it immediately.

• Fresh eggs can be tricky to get to emulsify. One farmer I spoke to thought it had something to do with the proteins being too strong? I have no idea but it went like hell when I tried, so now I stick with pasteurized egg yolks.
• If you end up with eggy oil, don’t panic. Get a new clean jar, 2 more egg yolks and start over, but this time use the eggy oil. Whisk faster and harder and slow down on the adding the eggy oil. It should bind on the second attempt.

• You can swap the vinegar for any acid, such as balsamic or lemon juice.
• The oil can be any, but remember that strong oils affect the flavour (strong olive oils can make for a really unpleasant mayonnaise that feels like your choking).
• You can also season with herbs, spices, garlic, the usual suspects…
• Or for a real treat, mix bacon fat in with the oil and season after with bacon pieces to make baconnaise with crunch. I’ve seen people eating teaspoons of this, post burger session as dessert.

Updated 12 July 2018
As mentioned above, you can flavour your mayonnaise with herbs and such. Below are two I made recently.

Garlic Mayonnaise
Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic, a sprig of oregano and a handful of parsley. Then blend into about 6 tablespoons of mayonnaise. A twist of lemon/lime juice can also be added to take it further is suitable.

Tarragon Mayonnaise
This a great alternative to Béarnaise sauce. Finely chop the leaves of 6 or so long sprigs of tarragon (Ditch the stem, it’s too woody) and blend into 6 tablespoons of mayonnaise. You can also add a half teaspoon of tarragon essence if you need to beef up the flavour more.

As always, these are just rough estimates and you should taste and alter to your needs along with seasoning as appropriate.