Dress Up Your Sandwiches: Herb-Based Mayonnaise

Image Gallery Photo by Joe Coca

Set all ingredients and bowl out to warm to room temperature before beginning. MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons dill vinegar
• 3/4 cup oil (part olive oil, part salad oil)

1. Add salt, sugar and mustard to the egg yolk.

2. While mixing with a whisk, add vinegar and then slowly beat in oil until each ingredient is thoroughly mixed in. The mixture should gradually thicken to the same consistency as store-bought mayonnaise (but with a richer flavor and warm yellow color, flecked with spices).

3. I make a triple batch and store it in the refrigerator in a covered plastic container, where it keeps for 1 week.

Note: If your mayonnaise fails to thicken, put the bowl aside (in a warm place, not the fridge), until oil rises to the top. Carefully pour the oil off and then beat it back into the egg mix. Another never-fail trick is to start with the dry ingredients, always beginning with salt.

Jo Ann Gardner is an avid gardener, cook and frequent contributor to The Herb Companion. She and her husband Jigs recently co-authored Gardens of Use and Delight (Fulcrum, 2002), and she is currently working on a book about silver plants. 

Click here for the main article, Dress Up Your Sandwiches with Herbs.