On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1201

helpbreaktheoilintosmallerdroplets.
Thoughcookbooksoftensaythattheratio
ofoiltoeggyolkiscritical,thatoneyolkcan
onlyemulsifyahalf-cuporcupofoil,this
justisn’ttrue.Asingleyolkcanemulsifya
dozencupsofoilormore.Whatiscriticalis
theratioofoiltowater:theremustbeenough
ofthecontinuousphaseforthegrowing
populationofoildropletstofitinto.Forevery
volumeofoiladded,thecookshouldprovide
aboutathirdofthatvolumeinthe
combinationofyolks,lemonjuice,vinegar,
water,orsomeotherwater-basedliquid.
A Sensitive Sauce Because mayonnaise is
chock-fullofoil,somuchsothatthedroplets
press up against each other, its emulsion is
easilydamagedbyextremesofcold,heat,and
agitation. It will tend to leak oil in nearfreezing refrigerators and on hot rather than
warm food. These problems are ameliorated
in manufactured mayonnaise by the addition


of stabilizers, usually long carbohydrate or
proteinmoleculesthatfillthespacesbetween
droplets.Americanbottled“saladdressing”is
a very stable hybrid of mayonnaise and a
boiledwhitesaucemadewithwaterinsteadof
milk. The texture of such modified sauces,
however, is noticeably different from the
dense, creamy original. Refrigerated
mayonnaise should be handled gently, since

some oil may have crystallized and escaped
from their droplets. If so, stir gently to
reemulsify it, perhaps with the addition of a
fewdropsofwater.

Making mayonnaise. The cook begins with a
smallvolumeofthewaterphase—mostlyegg
yolk — and slowly beats oil into droplets in