Magnonnaise (Mayonnaise)

Thick, creamy mayonnaise made with tarragon vinegar and gelatin

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City/Region: France

Time Period: 1828

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Mayonnaise (or magnonnaise, as Carême calls it in this recipe from 1828), didn’t really become popular until the early 19th century. First popular in France, by the 1850s, cookbooks in other countries were including recipes for it, sometimes with several variations. Earlier recipes commonly used gelatin, but by the end of the 19th century, the recipe looked very much like what we make today.

Homemade mayonnaise is vastly better than anything you can buy. There’s a nice zing from the vinegar in this one, and even if you don’t like store bought mayonnaise, I think you should give this a try; it’s really delicious. If you’re not worried about historical accuracy, you could make this without the gelatin.

“White Magnonnaise Sauce
Place into a medium bowl two egg yolks (as pale as possible), a large pinch of white salt, the same of white pepper, and a quarter of a tablespoon of tarragon vinegar. You briskly stir this mixture with a wooden spoon; and as soon as it begins to thicken, you add half a tablespoon of oil from Aix. As soon as the sauce thickens, you add a few drops of vinegar, then oil, and so on, taking care to work it constantly…As it thickens, you add a little oil at a time, as well as vinegar and a small amount of aspic jelly…by adding the oil and vinegar little by little…you see it gradually come together, becoming firm and velvety like a well-set cream. Finally, after having incorporated two glass of oil, half a glass of aspic jelly, and the necessary vinegar to make it pleasantly tangy, you use it immediately.”

— Le cuisinier parisien by Marie-Antoine Carême, 1828

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Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• Pinch salt
• Pinch white pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon tarragon vinegar, plus about 2 teaspoons, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, plus 2 cups (235 ml), divided

Instructions:

1. Stir the gelatin into the water to dissolve it. You’ll only need 2 tablespoons of this mixture.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color a little bit. Add the salt and white pepper and continue to whisk until it lightens a bit more. Whisk in the 3/4 teaspoon tarragon vinegar until it’s well incorporated. Throughout this recipe, if you want to switch from hand whisking to using an immersion blender, feel free to do so. If you use an immersion blender, switch back to a whisk every once in a while to scrape down the bowl.
3. Once the 3/4 teaspoon vinegar is fully incorporated, drip the 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in slowly, whisking constantly, and continue to whisk for about 2 minutes. The mixture should thicken.
4. When the mixture has thickened, incorporate the rest of the oil, more vinegar to taste, and the 2 tablespoons of the gelatin mixture by very slowly adding in first some oil, then a bit of the vinegar, and about 1 teaspoon of the gelatin, whisking constantly and fully incorporating each addition before adding more. Taste before adding vinegar so you can determine if you want to add more. Repeat until you’ve used all of the oil, 2 tablespoons of gelatin mixture, and as much vinegar as is to your taste. The mixture should stay thick, but if you add the oil too quickly, it can break and become liquidy. If this happens, you can save it by making a new batch, and once it’s completed and stable, slowly add the liquidy batch in, whisking constantly.
5. When your mayonnaise is finished, serve it forth right away as it will split after about an hour or so.

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