A friend of mine whipped up a batch of amazing mayonnaise in less than five minutes about 15 years ago for a luncheon visit. It was home grown, sun-ripened tomato time so she added fresh basil and a clove of garlic to one whole egg, EV olive oil and lemon juice.
Her secret ingredient was half a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.
That was the beginning of my passion for beautiful home-made mayonnaise. Imagine crusty warm bread with pesto, mayo and a thick slice of beefsteak tomato.
It is difficult to find mayo or miracle whip that is untainted in today’s marketplace so making your own has the added benefit of choosing the ingredients that make this popular spread a nutritional supplement.
The trouble with commercially made mayo is their almost exclusive use of GMO canola oil. Before canola oil, palm oil, grapeseed and sunflower oil becomes a lovely clear golden liquid their seed go through a sodium hydroxy (caustic soda or lye) process. Further treatment includes bleach and high heat to remove the smell.
Extra-virgin, cold-pressed oils stored in dark glass bottles are the best quality on the market. Avocado oil, my favorite, is also extracted from this exotic fruit by the cold press method and after that separated from the pulp by centrifugal force. You can educate yourself further about oils by visiting “Olive us.”
This local company recently opened a tasting room in the old Canadian Tire building. You can also purchase their gift pack at Farmer John’s in Grindrod. The gift pack contains two infused oils and one apricot white and a raspberry dark balsamic. Farmer John’s is open for their second season and deserves a family visit.
We seem to have developed a Friday afternoon ritual with our grandchildren of ice-cream licks while watching the cows walking through the robotic milking stalls. And yes, they do offer specialty coffees as well as lunch. Grass Roots is another local farm deserving a visit. I suggest a cheese tasting and a take home container of thick, creamy Bulgarian style yogurt. Especially delicious when dressed with a sparkle of raspberry balsamic. Bon appetit!
Whole Egg Mayo
1 whole egg at room temperature
1 tbsp Dijon mustard.
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup of avocado oil. Or ¾ c avo oil and ¼ cep EV olive oil
Extras: 1 squeeze of lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar, garlic or herbs.
Use a food processor or immersion blender. Place all ingredients in the food processor. Slowly add oil a small amount at first. Keep the motor running and continue to add the oil until your mayo is thick and creamy. You can find more recipes for coleslaw mayo and potato salads at www.inspiredtaste.com.
-Afke Zonderland is a raw food chef and founder of Okanagan Rawsome Living Whole Foods.