It would have been very helpful, and more “newbie” friendly, if the ingredients list had been more specific. I don’t think a reader should be expected to read every single comment in order to have an accurate grasp of a recipe.

I was able to obtain the right whey quite easily, of course. And I followed the recipe instructions to the letter – especially after reading about mistakes others had made. My emulsion held, but….the final product was terrible! It tastes overwhelmingly of olive oil, and the texture was not pleasant. My mayo also looks *much* more yellow than the one pictured. Not that I care much about the color, it’s just rather confusing to have a result that is so different from what is shown.

I hate to waste food, but unfortunately, that was my end result. I hope this recipe can be adjusted so that other readers don’t end up wasting some beautiful ingredients, or even worse, becoming discouraged!!!

1) As noted by Kristen, all ingredients need to be at ROOM TEMPERATURE. Either leave everything out for an hour or more before using, or heat the whole eggs gently in a warm water bath (~100F) for 10+ minutes.
2) This is NOT a good way to use an expensive extra-virgin olive oil. I’ve learned firsthand that it develops unpleasant bitterness after vigorous whisking. A few cookbooks have noted this issue in an offhand way — the theory seems to be that the “shear force” needed to break the egg yolks up into an emulsion base also damages the subtle esters (or whatever) that give olive oil its distinctive taste. (EVOO can be carefully whisked into the emulsion by hand at the *end* of the process without producing bitterness. Don’t start with it, though.)
3) Grapeseed oil is my absolute favorite for mayonnaise — I use a brand from Israel, or Spectrum. Second best is canola oil (yes it’s not as healthy, but from a culinary standpoint the neutrality of flavor and liquidous consistency is ideal), or neutral peanut oil. Or perhaps those “light” olive oils in the grocery store I’ve never tried. Unfiltered peanut oil or untoasted sesame oil (Middle Eastern-style) work fairly well, but add their own intrusive overtones of flavor. Cold-pressed coconut oil has NOT worked very well for me because of its flavor, its consistency, and also because it stiffens into a brick when stored in the refrigerator.
3a) One idea I’ve seen mentioned is to use melted lard, or schmaltz from pastured chickens, or strained bacon fat as the fat component — the only problem being that you need to have at least 1 cup of it, and it has to be warmed sufficiently to be quite liquid in texture. Actually this sounds like it would make a KILLER mayonnaise, especially if using chicken or duck fat. A mix of peanut oil and bacon fat also sounds fantastic.
4) A little bit of plain water added to the egg yolks at the beginning (perhaps 1.5 tsp per yolk) helps give a firmer final result. The influential article “A Mayo Clinic” in the LA Times starts with 2 egg yolks, 1 Tb white wine vinegar, 1 Tb H2O, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, followed by 1 cup of oil incorporated using an immersion blender.
4a) The cautions about adding the oil drop-by-drop at the beginning are overblown. This is more of a historical issue, from when cooks made it by hand motion alone. The most important part is to thoroughly blend the initial base of egg yolks+liquid before adding oil.
5) A thick mayonnaise is usually around 80% oil (by volume) suspended in 20% emulsifiers and liquid. I made many batches of runny mayonnaise before I realized I was holding back on the oil in fear of ruining the emulsion. It seemed counter-intuitive that more oil would produce a firmer sauce; but apparently the skien of the yolks+liquid needs to be “stretched” around a sufficient quantity of oil before it can stiffen.
5a) According to kitchen lore, lemon juice should be added at the end for flavoring as it impedes the proper creation of a thick emulsion when added at the beginning.

Hope that helps. On a final note, see if your local supermarket carries Ojai Lemonaise, and use that as a benchmark for how a great mayonnaise should taste. Or just buy it and spare yourself the effort at home.

There are 3 things that will prevent your mayonnaise from emulsifying: (1) Adding too much oil and not enough egg yolk (2) Adding the oil too fast (3) Cold ingredients, specifically the egg yolks.

It is a little easier to make mayo with a blender or food processor but you can use a whisk — you just need consistent (not necessarily fast, just constant motion) whisking and you need to add the oil very slowly. You also need to make sure your ingredients are not cold.

Here is what to do when your mayonnaise does not emulsify — you can save the batch. This works every time:

1. In a mixing bowl, add one egg yolk and whisk for a couple minutes. It is important that the egg yolk be ROOM TEMPERATURE. If it is cold, you will need to beat it longer. Easier just to use a room temp egg yolk.

2. Whisking continuously, add your broken batch of mayo one tablespoon at a time.

Ok so,
I’ll give it a try and maybe I can save the batch — pray for me!! :-O

My whey came from the straining of real cultured raw-milk (or yogurt), my oilve oil is the super expensive cold pressed variety, and the only thing that isn’t exactly as you said is the apple cider vinegar which is only the regular kind. Oh, and I forgot to let my eggs warm up to room temperature.

What did I do wrong?
Hoping you can focus my attention on whatever error is messing me up.
Thanks!