I have quite the collection of containers and jars sitting under the stairs, pulled out whenever needed, mostly for mise en place or temporary storage, but there are a few jars, usually pickle jars, that have a different purpose and aren't grabbed for any old use, they are just the right size and shape for my stick blender. These jars are ideal because the opening is just bigger than the wand of the blender, widens slightly and there isn't too much of a bulge at the base to interfere with the blade. When it comes to making mayonnaise these jars make it a cinch, you don’t have to be gentle with oil addition, usually I just get the emulsion started and then dump in a few slugs of oil at a time rather than a dribble, or drop by drop.
Garlic parsley mayonnaise (for a 670g pickle jar)
1 egg yolk
Juice of a lemon
2–3 Garlic cloves
Mustard, Dijon
Parsley
Olive oil
Sunflower oil
Cider vinegar
Salt
This method can of course be adjusted for plain mayonnaise, just leave out the parsley and garlic, the lemon juice can be substituted for vinegar, or vice versa, however mustard is a must as it’s an important emulsifying agent.
- Put into the jar the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, a spoonful of mustard and egg yolk.
- Insert the blender and whiz on high speed until everything has been puréed.
- While the blender is running, slowly pour in about a quarter of a cup of olive oil, this is the only slow addition you should have to do, it’s important to get the emulsion started otherwise it wont happen. It should be thick and homogeneous.
- Add another quarter cup of oil and blitz until incorporated. Taste and add salt, go a little heavy as more oil is being added, and splash in 2–3 tablespoons of cider vinegar, depending on taste. Blitz again, it will loosen but don't worry it will thicken up when more oil is added.
- With the blender running start pouring in sunflower oil, keep going until the jar is full.
- If you’re worried about it being too thick, splash in a little vinegar or water, but be careful a little will drastically loosen the mayonnaise.
- Taste and adjust the salt and acid if needed, blitz. It should be nice and thick and have a good wobble to it. Screw on a lid and store in the fridge until used.
