this is a weird post. i know its weird. you know its weird. because ITS WEIRD TO TALK ABOUT MAYO. right?

so i'm starting off by acknowledging its weird and now we can move on.

… because what if talking about mayo didn't make you cringe. what if you didn't immediately think PROCCESSED when I said mayo. what if you thought: five wholesome, good-for-you ingredients?

don't believe me? challenge accepted.

the ONLY reason I'm even posting it is because I firmly believe that homemade mayo is SO much better than the store bought stuff. like SO MUCH BETTER.

a) it tastes better. b) it's better FOR you (hiiii real ingredients I can pronounce and am okay eating) & c) it's easy and cheap. so there's really no excuse NOT to make your own.

SO. homemade mayo. would I be jumping the gun to say I probably won't ever BUY mayo again? yes. I'd probably be jumping the gun. however. I'm still willing to put it out there.

this is something that came about from our whole30 way back in august! and it's been a staple in my life ever since. one of the amazing things that came out of us doing that whole30 was the way I learned new-to-me basics. you can find a homemade mayo recipe left and right, but this is the one I use and the one I've never had a problem with.

here's the scoop: you can make this in a blender or a food processor, but I REALLY recommend my immersion blender. such a catch.

that thing makes this process a breeze.

I just gotta say, i feel SO much better about eating tuna salad or my spicy pretzel dip when I know it's not loaded with weird, unknown, unpronounceable ingredients (aka chemicals). plus. mayo is versatile! who knew?! you can make so many different variations and flavors and I LOVE using it to make creamy salad dressings. I promise it's worth it.

also, for funsies. I love using this to make fry sauce!

I think the first time I saw my best friend mix mayo and ketchup together I was grossed out. we were having homemade bacon burgers and it might have been one of the first (of many) meals I had at her house. and I couldn't wrap my head around it.

I don't think I really came to appreciate the concept of a fry sauce until the beginning of my twenties when I began exploring the world of food and tastes and flavors a little more enthusiastically.

now I love it! and I always appreciate those restaurants that put a small side of mayo on my plate when I order fries.

it's the little things.

like a curly fry and a delish dipping sauce.

also, just an FYI. if you're worried about the shelf life of your mayo, I'm going to take the political route here and say DON'T EAT SOMETHING YOU'RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH. that being said. resources that I trust say your mayo will be fine until the expiration date of your eggs. I'm not going to get into the science of it (the lemon juice or whatever) and i'll just say – if you're afraid of the mayo after a week then don't eat it. I will say that I generally end up using the full batch within a week anyway. Frankie loves his dips and dressings and sauces etc. so it really doesn't last long around here.

Homemade Mayo & Fry Sauce

Author: Ashley Renee
Prep Time: 10
Total Time: 10
Yield: 1 1x

Scale

Ingredients

1 + 1/4 cup light olive oil
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice

for the fry sauce

2 tablespoons mayo
1 +1/2 tablespoon ketchup
a dash of sriracha

Instructions

Make sure all of your mayo ingredients are room temperature. This is KEY for the emulsion to work properly. Don't fret. I always forget to take my egg out beforehand and just pop one out and put in in a bowl of warm/hot water while I'm getting all the other ingredients prepped (i.e. finding them in my kitchen, juicing the lemon, measuring out the olive oil, etc.) and the egg is room temperature when I need it!
Add 1/4 cup olive oil, the egg, mustard powder, and salt in your blender or the cup for your immersion blender and mix together thoroughly. While the blender is running, SLOWLY pour in the rest of the olive oil. The slower you pour the olive oil, the thicker the mayo will be. As you pour the olive oil, you should see the mixture begin to emulsify (thicken).
After you've added all the oil and the mixture is fully emulsified, stir in the lemon juice. You want to do this slowly, so blend on slow if you're not hand mixing it in.
The mayo will keep in a sealed container in your refrigerator until the expiration date on your eggs! (But we always end up using it faster than that)

for the fry sauce

Combine the mayo, ketchup, and sriracha in a small bowl and mix. Serve immediately with fries or other dippable appetizers.
If you want to make a larger batch for a party or a big group, the recipe can easily be doubled using a 1:3/4 ratio. So if you use 1 cup of mayo, use 3/4 cup of ketchup. Add the sriracha to taste.