I have spent my life avoiding condiments. I have never like ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise. I ate my salads dry as a child. I always ordered my burgers plain with only pickles. I was super excited when McDonald's introduced chicken nuggets because then I didn’t have to wait for my ”special” burger. I even almost caused a car accident when my friend tried to feed me a French fry with ketchup. The smell of it coming towards me brought forth a primal scream that shocked my dad, who was driving. Ummm, that did not go over well with my father.
As I’ve matured I have broadened my horizons somewhat to include BBQ sauce, Blue Cheese and Caesar dressings. No fry sauce at popular burger joints for this girl. I won’t make any recipe that uses mustard. Cook-outs are tricky for me because I don’t eat potato salads or slaw because they often include the dreaded condiments I work so hard to avoid. I even unwittingly tried to pass this on to my children by ordering them plain burgers and never serving ketchup with their fries.
I tell you all of this to introduce my one caveat - homemade mayonnaise. I have fallen in love with making my own mayo and I use it in dips, homemade dipping sauces, salad dressings and on sandwiches. It is so easy and comes together in a matter of minutes with a food processor or blender.
You‘ll need:
2 whole eggs
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I think you can guess that I leave this out!)
2 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
In a blender or food processor with a metal blade, briefly process the eggs, vinegar, and mustard if you‘re using it.
Then slowly add the remainder of the oil while the machine runs.
The mayo will thicken as you blend and add the oil. I like to add a little salt to mine when I’m done. If you’re as lucky as I am, you might have an official 11 year old mayonnaise taste-tester to make sure you have the correct level of salt.
When you’re done, store it in an air-tight container, such as this fancy-pants Chinese food container I usually use. It keeps quite awhile, unless you eat it fast!
I have found homemade mayo isn’t as thick and gloopy as regular mayonnaise, which might be part of why I like it. I’ve also found that when you use really great locally produced eggs, it has a beautiful yellow tint that you won’t find in the condiment aisle at the grocery store.
Now that you have your mayonnaise made, you can use it loads of ways!
Like this version of campfire sauce that is delicious on burgers or fries: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a20640043/campfire-sauce-recipe/
You also can use our Ranch Seasoning to make a dip or salad dressing without all the preservatives. Or you can add some Cajun Seasoning to the mayo to make a spicy remoulade for a po’boy. Our dip and other seasoning blends are available here: https://www.prairiecentermeats.com/spice-blends
So no matter if you’re a condiment enthusiast or a fan of experiencing the purity of flavor from your food without further adornments, you should try homemade mayonnaise at least once. It converted this girl. Maybe it will be a game changer for you as well.
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