Food Fridays on Empty Streets: Home Made Mayo

I love mayo a lot and in times where economic crisis is the talk of the town nothing beats making your own stuff at a fraction of the cost of what you would normally spend on. Best thing of all it is organic. :) So for today I would like to show you how I make my own mayo from scratch and you have to understand that this recipe is just your basic mayo - the beauty of it is that once you learn to the basics you can start playing around with the ingredients and add your own little concoction to the mix.

Ingredients:

* 2 egg yolks
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
* 1/8 teaspoon sugar
* Pinch pepper
* 4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar
* 1-1/2 cups olive or other salad oil
* 4 teaspoons hot water

Preparation:
Beat yolks, salt, mustard, sugar, pepper, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl until very thick and pale yellow. (Note: If using electric mixer, beat at medium speed.) Add about 1/4 cup oil, drop by drop, beating vigorously all the while. Beat in 1 teaspoon each lemon juice and hot water. Add another 1/4 cup oil, a few drops at a time, beating vigorously all the while. Beat in another teaspoon each lemon juice and water. Add 1/2 cup oil in a very fine steady stream, beating constantly, then mix in remaining lemon juice and water; slowly beat in remaining oil. If you like, thin mayonnaise with a little additional hot water. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Do not keep longer than 1 week.

Here's a video tutorial for those that love to watch how it's done by the experts:

With all that done you should have your mayonnaise ready to eat. Don't forget to refrigerate it first before using :)

And just as an added bonus here are some other uses for mayo that you never would have thought possible:
1. Mayonnaise can be used as a natural hair conditioner. Massage a quantity of mayonnaise into your hair, much in the same way as a normal post-shampoo conditioner. Cover your head with a shower cap and allow the mayonnaise to remain on your hair for several minutes. Rinse thoroughly and the result should be shinier and softer hair.

2. Use mayonnaise as a facial cleanser. Apply a layer of mayonnaise as you would a deep cleansing facial soap. After 15 or 20 minutes, wipe off the mayonnaise and rinse your face thoroughly. The oils and salt of the mayonnaise will restore moisture and remove impurities.

3. In case of a sunburn emergency, apply cold mayonnaise to the affected area. The coolness of the mayo will reduce the pain and the oil will provide much-needed moisture.

4. Some physicians are now recommending the use of mayonnaise to combat head lice infections. Certain strains of head lice have become very resistant to the traditional chemical treatments, but leaving mayonnaise in the hair overnight with a shower cap will cause the lice to suffocate and die. Comb out any remaining nits with a fine tooth comb and repeat the process seven days later.

5. Lubricate stubborn rings with mayonnaise. If a ring becomes too tight to remove, try applying a generous amount of mayonnaise to the entire finger, especially under the ring itself. Mayonnaise is very slippery, so it should reduce the friction well enough to allow removal of the ring.

6. Remove bumper stickers and residue with mayonnaise. A layer of mayonnaise applied to the remnants of a bumper sticker should soften the paper and dissolve the glue after several minutes.

Who would have guessed that mayo was much more than just a simple taste enhancer. ;) till the next time. xoxo