Sunday, February 14, 2010

Coconut oil mayonnaise


Until recently I always made mayonnaise using only olive oil, and I was pretty happy with it -- but I really wanted to find some ways to incorporate more coconut oil into our diet. Well, it only took one experimental try to discover that it works really great in mayo! I actually got a better texture and firmness with the coconut oil. Oliver will eat several spoonfuls at a sitting, not as a condiment but as a stand-alone food. It's really delicious and you can eat as much as you want and enjoy all the beneficial properties of the coconut oil as well as the flavor (and no, it doesn't taste like coconut if you buy the expeller-pressed, semi-refined variety).

First, if coconut oil is solid, remove lid and place jar in pot of water on the stove. Turn on very low heat and allow water to warm gently so that oil becomes liquefied, but not hot. In food processor, blend the following for 30 seconds (or mix vigorously with a whisk):

• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (at room temperature - VERY important!)
• 1 tbsp. whey (instructions for making your own are here)
• 1 tsp. Dijon-style mustard
• 1.5 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (4 1/2 tsp.)
• 3 generous pinches of unrefined sea salt

Using drip attachment on processor, add 1/2 cup liquefied coconut oil very slowly, and allow to blend well. Check for seasonings, and add more salt, lemon, or mustard if desired (garlic powder or fresh minced garlic may also be added at this time). Pour mayonnaise into a small jar, screw on lid tightly, and allow it to remain at room temperature for 7 hours; this will “inoculate” the mayonnaise with good bacteria from the whey and prevent it from harboring any dangerous bacteria. After 7 hours, store in refrigerator. Mayonnaise made with whey will last much longer than you could possibly need it to! Store in a slightly warmer part of the refrigerator (such as the door) to keep it from getting too firm. You can always let it sit at room temperature to warm up.

Coconut oil is a unique vegetable source of lauric acid (also found in breastmilk) and has impressive anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and anti-tumor properties which make it wonderful for individuals with candida, yeast overgrowth, imbalanced digestion, frequent infections, and much more. Coconut oil has been found to halt the HIV and herpes simplex viruses in vitro as well as many other viruses. In Thailand, where coconuts are a main staple of the diet, cancer rates were found to be the lowest out of 50 countries surveyed. Coconut oil is even effective against antibiotic-resistant "super-bugs!" Forget the flu shot -- instead, incorporate coconut oil into your daily diet, in baking, frying/sauteeing (low-temperature), in smoothies, melted in hot water, on oatmeal and other hot whole grain cereals, and in mayonnaise. I recommend the expeller-pressed semi-refined organic coconut oil from http://www.WildernessFamilyNaturals.com; it has no coconut flavor which makes it excellent for mayo.

*Note added 3/25/12: I have been making mayo for well over a year and a half now with a blend of coconut oil and olive oil. I use somewhere around a 70/30 ratio (coconut oil 70%, olive oil 30%). Since I always make a double batch, this translates to 2/3 cup coconut oil and 1/3 cup olive oil. Mainly I started doing this because the coconut oil mayo was just too hard after refrigeration. Play around with it and see what you prefer.

12 comments:

  1. Hey Hannah, I just tried this tonight with Julia. I'd only made yolk-only, olive oil mayo before, so this was different. I did 50-50 coconut-olive oils. It came out really runny. Is that normal? Does it set after being in the fridge, because it's always been super thick before.

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  2. Hannah - that last comment was actually from me, Amanda, but my husband was signed on so it looks like it is from him.

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  3. Fantastic idea about the whey! I make kefir and whey-fermented veggies, but this had never occurred to me. My wife and I are just starting to explore coconut oil, but we live in Japan so in the winter it's always solid. Do you have any advice for working with it in cold climates--either techniques, or recommended recipes? Thanks again!

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  4. Just put it in a pot of warm water on the stove -- you only need to heat it a very little to get the oil to liquefy. Be sure it isn't hot when you add it to the mayo! It only needs to reach 76 degrees to melt.

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  5. I actually now use both coconut and olive oils, in a 70-30 ratio. Store it is a cold part of the fridge and it will set well and have a spreadable consistency. Increase the amount of coconut oil to get a thicker mayo.

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  6. I just made a double batch and it turned out SO YUMMY!! Thank you so much for sharing this.

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  7. Does the mayo need to have the salt or is it just for flavor? I was considering trying this mayo with some vanilla and stevia for a sweeter version to eat with fruit or spread on coconut flour pancakes, etc... What do you think?

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    1. The salt is just for flavor. Without it you have a very oily-tasting spread (olive predominating) which I don't think would lend itself well at all to sweet dishes. If you are set on doing this (rather than, say, trying yogurt cheese or coconut butter as a sweet topping for fruit, etc.) then I would make it with 100% coconut oil (maybe the really high-quality virgin kind that has a great flavor) and cut way back on the lemon juice. It will get very hard in the fridge, so keep it in the door which is usually a little less cold.

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    2. The mayo I just made turned out perfect and I used pure extra virgin c.o. only. All I need to do next time is omit the mustard, salt and add vanilla and stevia I'm assuming. I can't wait! Thanks again. P.S. you mentioned olive? Is this recipe supposed to have olive oil in it in addition to the co? I didn't use any.

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    3. See the note I just added. I had mentioned in the comments earlier but have added a note now in the post.

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  8. Hi Hannah, Thanks for the recipe. I was wondering what sort of shelf life this mayo has. You mention that it keeps longer than you need it to. Is this with the use of unpasturized eggs? Are we talking months?

    Thanks again!

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  9. I made a dressing substituting coconut oil for olive oil, and the oil hardened up instantly and made a big mess in the blender. It wasn't usable at all. Perhaps all ingredients need to be room temperature?

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