I do both, depending on how I want to use the mayo. If I am making aioli sauce, I always make my on mayo, but if I am just going to use it on sandwiches, I use Best Foods (West Coast name for Hellman's) and add Habanero sauce to it. If I am making chicken salad, I will use bought mayo, but if I am making egg salad or pasta salad, I make my own, although I seldom make pasta salad. In general, for any mayo type recipe that is going on vegetables, including salads. For a Roquefort or Bleu cheese dressing, I often use bought mayo, because it it lighter tasting. I normally use 2/3 olive oil and 1/3 avocado oil, depending on the recipe.

If that method for the stick blender works, I will make it more often. In the past, I've made it with a stick blender mixing the lemon juice, mustard, and egg together, and then I tried to add the oil with the blender on, but I have spilled it several times while doing this, and so if you can dump all ingredients together first, allow to sit for a minute, and then blend, that would be less accident prone. I don't like making it in the blender because it is impossible to get all of it out. I certainly won't make it in the Vitamix because the bottom does not detach, and when I make it with a regular blender (which I store in the garage), I take the blade out, and then try to scrape the mayo out from the bottom of the blender jar, which can also make a mess/accident.

I also have the problem that I do not want to use that much mayo at one time, and homemade mayo does not last the way bought mayo does.

The stick blender was VERY easy and you can make it in the jar you're going to store it in. I made a big batch of chicken salad last night so I ended up using it all though.

Yes, the stick blender is super easy. Just be sure to put the ingredients in in order and it's just about fool-proof.

ETA Also, any of the whole egg stick blender recipes gives a result much more like Hellman's than like real French mayonnaise. Of course, you do need a reliable egg source.

I have made it in the past but always use ready made mayo anymore. That is because I use small amounts of mayo at any one time. And a lot of the time when I use mayo, I use half mayo/ half sour cream for things like pea salad. And then, there's the small risk of salmonella with raw eggs. I use Burman's mayo from Aldi. IMO, it's very nearly a clone of Hellman's and costs a fraction of what Hellman's costs. Do not care for Kraft mayo.

I make my own for when it matters, but for sandwiches or curried chicken salad for an army, I use Trader Joe's. The flavor isn't as good as Hellman's/Best Foods, but the ingredients are proper--I could season up the Trader Joe's but that at point just make it from scratch. While I know starch is sometimes added in minute quantities as a stabilizer (though one egg can emulsify a vat of oil, and when I use my Vitamix (similar to what I'd expect a commercial machine to do) to make mayonnaise the result would last forever without splitting). I don't want starch in my mayonnaise, let alone sugar or any other kind of sweetening, and so many of the commercial ones have it!

Sing it with me, "Bring out the Hellman's and bring out the best!"

I make my own when I need it.....which isn't that often. When it comes to salads, sammies and the like I am a Miracle Whip girl.

I do both. My problem with homemade is that it doesn't last like the boughten stuff and if you want a smear on a sandwich, you don't want to make mayo first before you can have lunch!

You can make your own mayo? Who knew?

Your timing of this post is so ironic. I made homemade mayo for the first time last night. DH was complaining that Best Foods/Hellmans doesn't taste like it used to. I hate soy, so I won't touch it. We had beautiful homemade mayo in Amsterdam last year, what a difference. Last night I made a similar recipe, but it called for white or red vinegar, not water. DH found it too bland. I added a little sugar and some lemon juice. It wasn't the same as the one in amsterdam, but it was far better than BF's.

I used my stick blender and canola oil, next time avocado or EVOO will be the oil. The texture was perfect, no doubt the stick blender and the cautious addition of the oil was the way to go!

Compumom, EVOO would be fine if you wanted an olivey mayo--it's delicious. For neutral, I use safflower oil.

I have recently become acquainted with duke's Mayonaise....it has no sugar and no lemon....all vinegar.
I make my own when it will all be eaten in one sitting....and when I have farm eggs other than that store bought...I like Kraft too....different and I think it's better on certain things.
My mother in law used to "mix up a little boiled dressing"...I never liked it enough to pay attention....but ti was flour and vinegar....and I forget what else. My grandmother used to make a dressing from heavy cream, vinegar and sugar. She said the trick was to dissolve as much sugar as it would hold into the cream and then add vinegar. It was often my job to stir that cream and surgar.
Miracle whip?? Nooooo!!

The immersion blender method works really well, and pasteurized eggs are a wonder for those of us without reliable egg access. I've always used the version with a little powdered mustard, rather than Dijon. More often than not, though, I'm resorting to store-bought for quick usages.

I forgot! You can buy pasteurized eggs!

Just an egg yolk (no white), a little mustard, salt, pepper and a small whisk. Add oil depending on flavour. All olive is too strong so usually add a little olive then sunflower. Then, nothing else or a little lemon juice... depends what we're going to eat it with.

A real aïoli is not made with egg yolk but you soak bread in water, squeeze it out and start your emulsion with that.

But, I use ready made when I want a sandwich.....just not Hellman's types which are strange and white........

I use Duke's Real mayonnaise too, lindac. I like the fact that there is no sugar in it. I have also tasted the Duke's Light Mayo with Olive Oil and it is also good. I have made my own in the past but it's much easier to just pull the jar out of the fridge (lazy me!).!

I've never seen Duke's, I'll have to look out for it. Islay, when I was in Amsterdam, I believe our restaurant server mentioned using sunflower oil. Unfortunately I in a new allergy testing, I recently became more sensitive to sunflower ;-( I will use avocado or a very light EVOO.

I grew up using Best Foods but because so many of my friends are now vegan, I switched to Vegannaise. I use their organic version and like it just fine. Would never make my own...just not important enough to me and I use it so seldom, maybe deviled eggs once in a while and a little bit on a sandwich - 4 times a year?

Anyone used Kewpie? I was at a great farm to table restaurant recently and they prepared fresh oysters, baked in the shell, topped with Kewpie - maybe broiled a minute to brown it a bit. None of us at the table could guess what it was, but one of my friends who's lived in Japan was familiar with it (altho she didn't guess that's what it was). It's Japanese mayo that comes in a kewpie jar, I guess. I have to get some to do a taste test of it and also to use on fresh oysters at our cabin on the saltwater where we can pick them off the beach.

Years ago, I tried making my own, but that was before I learned about the immersion blender method. Then, it never really emulsified, though it tasted good. Definitely don't want flour or sugar in any mayo!! And would prefer a healthy avocado oil. I don't use much mayo ever, but I should try making my own again. I'd be using local eggs.

Many years ago, I used Julia Child's recipe for mayo made in the Cuisinart. It was delicious! But I haven't made it in years. I'm a fan of Dukes Mayo. It's a cult item in the south - probably had to find in other parts of the country. But a bacon and tomato sandwich made with Duke's in incomparable!

The first 2 times I made mayo, it failed to emulsify. The first time I added the oil too quickly. The second time I tried the immersion blender method and I am not sure where I screwed up. I used the fails as a rich salad dressing or to toss potatoes with before going in the oven. Those potatoes were wonderful.

I only tried making the mayo because I was doing a whole30 diet where bought mayo all had off plan oils. The flavor of the homemade was wonderful when I finally got it to work with the stick blender. Dh especially liked it. It will not be the only mayo we consume, but I will probably continue making it. If I need to use it up, I can always turn it into a salad dressing.

I make my own, I don't use a lot of mayonnaise, but make it as I need it for recipes like vegetable salads. I'm not concerned about the raw eggs, as I have my own hens, and I do like to add fresh herbs for a roast beef sandwich or a teaspoon of pureed chipotles and a pinch of brown sugar for fish tacos.

The only exception is my semi-annual tomato sandwich. It's the only time I buy squishy white bread or make it, and it's gotta have Miracle Whip.

Annie

I tried the blender method yesterday, but I used this aioli recipe instead, but I used 1 Tbsp of lemon juice, 3/4 tsp Kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper - otherwise I did follow the recipe, except that I used 1/4 cup avocado oil, 1/4 cup light olive oil, and 1/2 cup Kalamata olive oil. I like a strong olive oil flavor with the garlic. I've not made aioli with just bread, oil, and garlic, nor have I had it that way. I do like a mixture of olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes, but I've not had that emulsified, although I think it would be good that way.

The aioli I made came out perfectly, although it was very thick. Anyway, it emulsified completely and did not separate. I'm going to add fresh dill to some of it to make a sort of Ranch salad dressing.

I've made it plenty of times, but I haven't in years for the same reasons others stated above. I buy Trader Joe's organic mayo. A 16 ounce jar can last us a month or more.

OK - so I'm going to make a confession - but please don't throw me off of this forum! I've never tasted homemade mayo so I have no idea what it's supposed to taste like. Until I got married we didn't even eat mayo, in our house it was Miracle Whip. The first time I made tuna salad I used MW and Hubby said "what in the world did you do to this?" So I've tried different ones but since I don't know the real we've now settled on the olive oil mayo. BTW my Mom made the best coleslaw in the world and I'm sure she made the dressing from MW, so there.

I buy Best Foods. DH doesn't really like mayo so I'm the one who uses most of it. Since we're not sandwich eaters, the small pint jar lasts forever in our house.

Ritaweeda, the big difference is that Miracle Whip is sweet. A lot of people add sweet to cole slaw even if they use mayo.

It's sweeter but it's also much more tangy. If I am using it in a hot recipe I make my own or use Hellman's ...but for a salad or a sandwich Miracle Whip all the way.

My SIL says she despises MW but when she makes a potato or mac salad she uses mayo, sugar and adds vinegar ! Hello!!!

I stick with Duke's. It is the only mayo I have found with no sugar added. We don't use much though. A quart will last six months to the better part of a year.

you may want to take a boo at the expiration dates

As long as you're using a clean implement with the commercial mayonnaise and not introducing a bunch of new bacteria, it's really fine in the fridge for months. They pasteurize the eggs. The sell by dates are the ones they guarantee the product for with the addition of a reasonable amount of time in the pantry for you to open it. That's not for edibility but that they'll guarantee the freshness--it's not rancid, deemulsified, scummy, moldy or otherwise gnarly. If it has been kept clean and cold, and doesn't look, smell or taste funny, it should be fine.

The only thing I use sweetened mayonnaise for (I appreciate other people's druthers, just speaking for myself) is broccoli slaw. I like a thick honey poppyseed dressing for that, which has a mayonnaise base. It's not very sweet, but makes a nice counterpoint to the broccoli.

Lars mentioned his mayo being very thick. Here, you can almost cut it with a knife. I'm not a fan of sloppy mayo - often too eggy.

You could definitely cut the garlic mayo I made with a knife. I added some fresh dill and sour cream to part of it and used that as a sauce for grilled zucchini and potatoes that I served with grilled salmon. I made a tartar sauce for the fish, which was somewhat similar to the dill sauce. I sliced the potatoes and microwaved them before grilling them, so that they would cook in the same amount of time as the zucchini. I added more black pepper to the sauce, and I shouldn't have because I put black pepper on the zucchini, and there was a bit too much pepper, but I scraped it off the zucchini, and it was fine.

Lars, your sauce sounds addictive!