Mayonnaise is a thick sauce traditionally composed of egg yolk beaten up with oil, vinegar and seasonings. It is a cold emulsified sauce. Mayonnaise is the oil-in-water emulsion where oil is the discontinuous phase and water is the continuous phase obtained by emulsifying edible vegetable oil(s) in an aqueous phase consisting of vinegar, being produced by egg yolk.
In addition, mayonnaise traditionally contains 70%–80% oil, and egg yolk is a key ingredient contributing to its stability.
Mayonnaise can be flavored in many ways. Add herbs, dried spices, flavored vinegars and dry mustard to the yolks. Though lemon juice and wine vinegar are classic, other citrus juices and most other vinegars can also be used.
Traditionally, mayonnaise is made with raw eggs yolks. The emulsion is formed by slowly blending oil with a premix that consists of egg yolk, vinegar, and mustard and then slowly feeding the oil, resulting in closed-packed foam of oil droplets or coarse emulsion. Traditional production of the emulsion often includes batch mixers, meaning that the oil is gradually added to an aqueous phase under extreme mixing, though production by the use of a high-speed mixer and the batch process is fairly inefficient.
It also may contain salt, spices or spice oils, natural sweeteners, and various natural flavoring ingredients. Oil content must be not less than 65% by weight and the product must contain at least 2.5% acetic acid by weight. Citric acid in the form of lemon or lime juice may replace the acetic acid at a minimum level of 2.5%.
As a room temperature preparation, mayonnaise is generally served with cold dishes of various sorts. These dressings have a pleasing, creamy quality and give salads a medium weight. Though good with lettuce, they are especially suited to potato and other vegetable salads.
Mayonnaise: An emulsion of raw egg yolks and vegetable oil
