May-O-Naze

I don't know how she did it, but for at least 97% of my elementary school days, my mother packed my lunch. (I figured by the time my kids hit 2nd grade, they could fix their own dadgum lunch. This must be why my older two eat cafeteria food 97% of the time. My mother was/is much nicer than I am.) Anyway, sometimes she would make me PB&Js. Sometimes she made mayo and cheese, except I didn't realize at that age that the mayonnaise wasn't really mayonnaise. It was Miracle Whip.

That is probably why I never really thought much about "mayonnaise". It was only something used to moisten the bread and cheese. It was certainly nothing that would add a nice flavor to food. I think I must have been a full-blown adult, living on my own, before I even tasted "real" mayonnaise. I remember being taken aback by the rich flavor of a packet of Hellman's and wondering why anyone would ever choose to use Miracle Whip as a substitute.

A few months back, I was staring at the label on my jar of Hellman's, wondering if Joe was sensitive to any of the ingredients. Thankfully, he isn't scary-allergic to anything that we know of, but he's always hated peanut butter, and any time it has gotten in his mouth, he complains about it making his mouth itch. We also recently discovered that lentils are on the 'no for Joe' list. Several spoonfuls of soup, and his mouth and stomach were in turmoil. He spent the next day at home with the squirts. That got me wondering. If Joe is allergic to at least two different legumes, could he be allergic to soybean products? Tuna melts are a quick easy meal I like to force on the family, but Joe complains about his mouth when we eat them. Either Joe is making it up to try to get out of eating them, or something- maybe the mayonnaise- really is causing him to react.

I did a quick internet search, and everything I found said that highly refined soybean oil is typically safe for those with soy allergies, since it doesn't contain the proteins that cause reactions. Just in case, I thought I'd try to pick up a jar of mayo that used something other than soybean oil, but every single jar in our local Kroger used soybean oil. Even the jars boasting use of the healthier olive oil used a significant amount of soybean oil. "Fine," I thought, frustrated that there are no health food stores near us. "I'll make my own mayonnaise."

So I did.

I should have known to expect yellow. After all, I did use a fresh egg from one of our free-ranging chickens. Our chicken's egg yolks are such a deep orange, marigolds are jealous. And so my REAL mayonnaise was a beautiful, sunny yellow. And I can't get over it.

To be perfectly honest, this homemade mayonnaise has such a zip and zing to it, I'm not sure I'd like it for everyday use, and I really don't know if the kids will like it. I may have to figure out how to tone it down a little. (Less vinegar/lemon juice?) And to be even more honest... I love the convenience of Hellman's, even though the ingredients are less than ideal. We'll see if this homemade mayonnaise kick lasts.