Adventures In Olive Oil Mayo!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

It’s been so long, I can’t even remember why I don’t eat so-called “modern” seed oils. Canola? Scram! Vegetable? You’re nothing but a Franken-oil. However, there comes a time where you just want some good ol’ mayo. Anyone that has ever tried olive oil mayo knows that it’s an acquired taste. Personally, I love it. But it has those bitter olive-y notes that don’t appeal to many people. In the last year or so, I’ve picked up a few things, though. And now, you lucky Farm To Philly readers, I’m ready to pass on all this vast (not really vast, just a couple of paragraphs) knowledge. Fasten your seatbelts! It’s Adventures In Olive OIl Mayo!

Supplies

You will need:
• Food Processor
• 1 farm fresh whole egg (you will be eating this raw, so yes, it does matter if it’s fresh!)
• 1 farm fresh egg white
• lemon juice (about 1 ts)
• dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• garlic grass (optional, see end of story)
• 1 cup (approx) of extra virgin olive oil

Bring It All Home
Combine all ingredients, except olive oil, in food processor until the mixture goes a lighter shade of yellow, about 30 seconds. Then, SLOWLY drip in the olive oil. I know — this isn’t anything new. Alton Brown gave this technique to the world several years ago. My addition to making this fool-proof is this: put the olive oil in a condiment bottle. Drip the olive oil in, one drop at a time, until the count of 100 drops. Then, you can trickle in the rest. If you are patient in the beginning, it will pay off: I have literally squeezed the bejeezus out of the bottle and my mayo, since using this technique, has never (I repeat, never) separated.

So, how long do you add the olive oil? It’s trial and error. But no worries: you will be able to hear when the mixture thickens. If you stop the machine, no problem. It’s not delicate. Go ahead, lid back up, start the machine and keep adding oil. What I do is go until I think that it’s ready (and it never is), take the lid off, scrape down the sides (and top - be warned, it will splash up, even through that little itty bitty hole). Then I put the lid back on and continue. You want the consistency of almost mayo. It should be a tad looser. It will firm up a bit more in the fridge.

So, wow, huh? Impressed? Well, you shouldn‘t be. Because there’s more! The secret to a better Olive Oil mayo is the extra egg white. This is importan — this is what I spent the past year perfecting: the egg white mellows the flavor. I won’t lie to you: this is not canola (or soybean) oil mayo. It does taste of olive oil. But the effect is less severe, less harsh. And really, when you add it to items (tuna, hamburger, egg salad, etc) I really feel that it’s more elegant than traditional mayo. But the best part — the icing on the EVOO cake — is the optional ingredient: garlic grass.

Have you ever had a clove of garlic that started to sprout? Throw that bad boy into some dirt (pointy side up). No Miracle Gro needed. Just water it every so often. You’ll be rewarded with a sprout of grass, much like a thick chive, that you can cut (it will keep growing for a while!) and sprinkle on food. Or, if you’re smart, add to your olive oil mayo. Like a quick and easy aioli!
That’s all there is to it. So easy, even I can do it. I make my mayo every week and use it for lunch. But it also serves as a great, classy (and quick!) topping to chicken or beef. I’ve used it up to a week and a half after it’s been made. Possibly longer. Just always smell and do a quick taste after a week, to be sure. Happy adventuring!