Cookbook:Basic Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is notoriously difficult for the beginner, as it often curdles, but easy once you have the knack.

Ingredients

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolk with a wire whisk for about a minute.
Then add the mustard, salt, and half the lemon juice. Whisk for another minute - the mixture should thicken very slightly.
Then, very slowly, add half the oil with one hand whilst whisking with the other.
Start drop by drop, incorporating each drop before adding the next, and build up to a trickle.
Keep going until the oil is whisked in.
Add the rest of the lemon juice, whisk to combine.
Add the rest of the oil in the same manner as before.
Keep going until all the oil is whisked in.
If desired, stir in flavourings such as crushed garlic, or use the mayonnaise as a base for other sauces.

One can make the whisking process easier by using a kitchen towel. Wet a kitchen towel, or any small towel, until it is very wet and heavy, but not dripping. Coil the towel on top of a flat surface, such as the kitchen countertop or a table. Place the bowl onto the circle. This will provide a steady base for the bowl and allow you to whisk with one hand while adding ingredients with the other.
If the mayonnaise curdles, it can be recovered by slowly dribbling the curdled mayonnaise into another egg yolk while whisking vigorously the whole time.
½ teaspoon white sugar can be added with the salt at the beginning for those with a sweet tooth.
It's easier to just use an immersion blender for the whisking.
For special occasion, you can spice up this recipe by making Juanz mayonnaise: Just add about a handful of finely chopped cilantro and about half a tooth of crushed garlic. This is also known as banana's mayonnaise.

Fry sauce is 2 parts of mayonnaise mixed with 1 part of tomato ketchup. It goes well with fries.