Mayonnaise or Aioli

Ingredients

• 1 whole or 2 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 2.5 dl neutral oil
• 1-2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 tbsp pickle juice
• 2-4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• salt
• pepper

Method

Mayonnaise is an emulsification — egg yolk lecithin binds fat and water into a stable suspension. Get the ratio wrong or the temperature too cold, and the lecithin can't hold the oil. You'll break it, and no amount of stirring recovers a split batch.

Start with your egg yolks (or whole egg if you prefer — yolks alone are richer, whole egg is more forgiving) in a tall, narrow vessel. Add the mustard, vinegar or lemon juice, pickle juice, salt, and pepper. The acid matters: it tightens the emulsion and gives flavour. For aioli, add your garlic cloves now — mashing them against the side of the bowl as you work creates a paste that distributes evenly. Room-temperature ingredients are non-negotiable. Cold oil sits in globules. Warm yolks curdle.

Pour the oil on top, then submerge your hand blender to the bottom without switching it on. Turn it to full power and hold it there for a few seconds — this draws the oil down and creates the initial droplet-in-water emulsion. Once you see a thick, pale mass forming at the base, begin drawing the blender slowly upwards. This is the critical move: you're working air in and breaking the oil into finer and finer droplets. The mixture will lighten and thicken visibly. If you accelerate or rush, you'll overwhelm the lecithin's binding capacity and it breaks — suddenly grainy, separated, ruined.

As the emulsion tightens and you've incorporated roughly three-quarters of the oil, you can move faster and add oil more generously. Taste as you go. If it splits mid-way — an unlikely event at room temperature with patience — start fresh with a clean bowl, egg yolk, and vinegar, then whisk in the broken batch drop by drop. It rebinds. Acid-in-cooking and emulsification recover what haste destroyed.

Finish with a pinch more salt and a whisper of pepper. For classical-sauces applications, thin with water or stock if the body feels too heavy. Store in the fridge — mayo lasts a week, aioli slightly less because of the raw garlic.