Life hell without Hellmann’s? Make your own mayonnaise

Chocolate Log, fish paste, Marmite and now Hellmann’s mayonnaise ... Why are we losing some of our favourite products? We lost the latter for many years a while back until production resumed, but now it’s gone again, in the middle of summer, nogal, when a dollop of the deliciously thick and creamy mayonnaise over a salad — and many other things — makes a meal.

Checkers, who have removed the product from their Sixty60 product list, say that the mayonnaise production has temporarily been discontinued by Unilever and are awaiting new timeframes from the manufacturer for their production to be resumed.  

So in the meantime, what’s the solution?

Well, either change your brand or create your own in minutes. Power permitting, it’s made with a stick blender and must be done in a container just a little wider than the blender. It’s easy peasy and goes like this:

TWO-MINUTE MAYO

Makes: 1  cup

Ingredients:

1 large egg

15ml (1 tbsp) fresh lemon juice or quality white vinegar

5ml (1 tsp) Dijon mustard

1 medium clove of garlic, finely chopped, optional

250ml (1 cup) vegetable or canola oil

Salt

Method:

1. Very carefully so it doesn’t break, place the egg, lemon juice and mustard in the bottom of a jar or container that just fits the head of a stick blender.
2. Add the garlic, if using, pour over the oil and allow to settle before placing the head of the blender over the egg yolk and turning on high speed. Don’t pulse or move the head.
3. Watch how the mayonnaise forms, then slowly tilt and lift the head of the stick blender and continue until all the oil has been absorbed.
4. Season with salt to taste and use or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to two weeks.