Name: Mayonnaise — Classic, Aioli, Rouille & Malt Vinegar
Ingredients: 2 fresh egg yolks (at room temperature); 1 tsp Dijon mustard (at room temperature); 1 cup (240ml neutral oil — grapeseed, sunflower, or safflower); 1 tbsp lemon juice or cider vinegar (at room temperature); Freshly ground white pepper and fine salt; 1 tbsp boiling water (and as needed, see instruction 4)

Mayonnaise — Classic, Aioli, Rouille & Malt Vinegar

Aaron Tighe

Part of the Emulsions Series at Loire Kitchen

The best tip I ever received about mayonnaise came from Fanny and Johnnie Cradock. In their book A Cook's Essential Alphabet, Johnnie describes an occasion when Fanny left the mixer beating egg yolks and went to answer the phone — only to return much later to find a thick, almost white batter waiting for her. She added the oil. The emulsion held perfectly. The lesson has stayed with me ever since: thoroughly beaten (aerated) egg yolks are the foundation of a great mayonnaise.

Everything else follows from that.

Before You Begin

A few principles that apply to all four versions: Temperature is everything. Mayonnaise is an emulsion held together by lecithin — found in both egg yolks and Dijon mustard. Lecithin works best at room temperature. Cold egg yolks, cold mustard, cold lemon juice — any of these will work against you before you've added a drop of oil. Take everything out of the fridge at least an hour before you start. Warm your mixing bowl and dry it thoroughly.

A note on refrigerated eggs: In the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Scandinavia, eggs are commercially washed before sale, which removes the egg's natural protective coating (the bloom). This makes refrigeration necessary. If your eggs come from the fridge, they must be brought to room temperature before use — cold lecithin is inefficient lecithin. In the UK and most of continental Europe, eggs are not washed and can be stored at room temperature, which is why you'll find them on the counter rather than in the fridge.

Beat the yolks properly. Whisk the egg yolks for two to three minutes on a medium-high setting before adding anything else. They should be pale, thick, and ribbony — close to what a pastry chef would call a sabayon. This is not fussiness. It builds a far more stable emulsion and is the single most important thing you can do before the oil goes in.

Choose your oil thoughtfully. For a classic neutral mayonnaise, reach for grapeseed, sunflower, or safflower oil. Avocado oil and canola work well. Light olive oil adds a gentle roundness. Standard olive oil is too assertive for a plain mayo — it becomes bitter and heavy. Save it for aioli and rouille, where garlic and chilli can hold their own against it.

Use white pepper, not black. Black pepper will give you perfectly good mayonnaise that looks slightly grey. White pepper keeps it clean and pale.

"For the teaching story behind this recipe — including what to do when it splits — read Emulsions — A Teaspoon of Hot Water in the LK Journal."

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Cuisine French

Equipment

A stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a hand held whisk
A squeezy bottle or small jug for the oil — slow, steady pouring is essential

Ingredients

2 fresh egg yolks at room temperature
1 tsp Dijon mustard at room temperature
1 cup 240ml neutral oil — grapeseed, sunflower, or safflower
1 tbsp lemon juice or cider vinegar at room temperature
Freshly ground white pepper and fine salt
1 tbsp boiling water (and as needed, see instruction 4)

Instructions

Place the egg yolks in the warmed, dry mixing bowl. Whisk on medium-high for at least two to three minutes, until pale, thick, and considerably increased in volume.
Add the mustard, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of white pepper. Whisk for a further minute. **Seasoning must be added now — before any oil goes in.** Just as in a vinaigrette, salt and pepper will not dissolve once oil is present. Season at this stage, or not at all.
With the whisk running at medium speed, begin adding the oil — drop by drop at first, then in a very thin, steady stream as the emulsion builds and thickens. Take your time. Rushing the oil at this stage is the most common cause of a split.
N.B. If the mixture splits, add a teaspoon or two of boiling water and whisk again. This will often restore the emulsion, but it is not guaranteed.
Once all the oil is incorporated, add the lemon juice or cider vinegar and blend briefly. Then add the tablespoon of boiling water and blend again. This final addition of boiling water helps to stabilise the emulsion.

Notes

Variation One — Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise)

The great emulsion of the Mediterranean south. Bold, golden, unapologetic.

Follow the base recipe with these changes:

Add 2 plump cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste, and omit the mustard
Use half olive oil, half neutral oil — the garlic is strong enough to hold its own against the olive oil's character, and the two are made for each other

To crush garlic without a press: remove the central green germ, if one is present, chop it finely, then grind it against your chopping board with the flat of a large knife and a pinch of coarse sea salt until it becomes a smooth paste.

Serve with grilled fish, roasted vegetables, or alongside a bouillabaisse.

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Variation Two — Rouille

The saffron-red mayonnaise of Provence. Fierce, smoky, essential with fish soup.

Follow the aioli recipe with one addition:

Add ½ a roasted red pepper, peeled and seeded — I use the roasted red peppers that come in jars, which I dry on a paper towel before chopping.
Or ½ a red pepper or a mild fresh red chilli, charred and peeled — add to the garlic paste before blending with the egg yolks

To prepare a fresh pepper or chilli: hold it directly over a gas flame (with tongs) until the skin blisters and blackens. Place in a bowl covered with a plate for five minutes — the steam loosens the skin. Remove the skin and seeds, then chop finely and add to the garlic. You can also roast peppers beautifully in an air fryer.

The result should be deeply coloured, smoky, and warming. It is not a condiment. It is a statement.

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Variation Three — Malt Vinegar Mayonnaise

A British detour through a French classic.

Follow the base recipe with one change:

Replace the lemon juice or cider vinegar with 1 tbsp good malt vinegar
For the mustard, I switch from Dijon to English mustard or French's yellow mustard — their sharper, more pungent character suits the malt vinegar far better than Dijon's refinement

The malt vinegar gives the mayonnaise a deeper, more distinctly British character — a little more robust, a little less pristine. It pairs beautifully with fried fish, cold meats, and — as I discovered some years ago and have never looked back — French fries.

A French technique. A British ingredient. The world's most universally loved food. Some combinations simply work.

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A Note on Mustard

Dijon mustard is in this recipe for two reasons, not one. It adds flavour — that clean, slightly sharp background note. But it also contains lecithin, making it a second emulsifying agent working alongside the egg yolk. This is why mustard belongs in mayonnaise, not merely by tradition, but by function. It is doing real work.

Which also means: cold mustard from the fridge is doubly problematic. It undermines both sources of emulsification before you've even started.

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This recipe is taught at Loire Kitchen as part of our culinary holidays in the southern Loire Valley. If you'd like to make it with us — and learn what to do when it goes wrong — you can find out more about our small-group cooking programmes here.

Mayonnaise – Classic, Aioli, Rouille & Malt Vinegar

Mayonnaise — Classic, Aioli, Rouille & Malt Vinegar