The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

processor bowl and pondering this very question, a thought
occurred to me: rather than stopping the processor every
few seconds to scrape down egg yolks, why didn’t I just
introduce an element to the bowl that would scrape them
down for me as the processor was running? And, on top of
that, why didn’t I make sure that the element I introduced
also added oil to the mix at a very slow, steady rate? If I
could do that, then the mayonnaise should basically make
itself once I’ve added all the ingredients to the bowl, right?
Here’s what I was thinking: frozen cubes of oil. By
freezing the oil, I transformed it from a liquid into a solid
that releases liquid at a slow and steady rate in the
processor, all the while bouncing around against the walls to
ensure that the egg yolks and flavorings don’t stay perched
up where the blades of the processor can’t reach them.
I tested my theory by mixing up a batch of mayonnaise in
the food processor, simply dumping all the other ingredients
into it along with a few frozen cubes of oil. I switched on
the processor and watched everything jump around. It was a
little erratic at first as the oil cubes bounced around their
prison, and then slowly but surely, things started to smooth
out, and within moments, I had a full-on creamy, tangy,
perfect mayonnaise.
The only other thing to think about is flavorings. A basic
mayonnaise needs nothing more than some mustard and
lemon juice, but more often than not I’ll add garlic to the
mix (a clove per egg is about right), as well as some extra-
virgin olive oil. (Extra-virgin olive oil should always be
whisked in by hand. Using an immersion blender or food
processor will turn it bitter—see “The Bitter Blend,” here.)