Well, kids. I’m sick. It started as a tickle, and now I’m in full-blown, can’t-hear-a-thing, kleenex-hanging-out-of-every-pocket mode. My head feels as if it will tip me all the way over if I stand up, so I’m staying out of the kitchen today. But here’s something I did last week that you may like to try – and do better (’cause you couldn’t do much worse).
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at homemade mayonnaise, so last week after deciding on sandwiches for dinner, I found zero mayo in the fridge and thought it would be a perfect opportunity.
I used a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters. It’s never steered me wrong in the past, so all I can come up with is that I’m just really, really, really bad at making homemade mayonnaise.
However, while throwing bowls around the kitchen and cussing making the mayonnaise, I realized I had all kinds of egg whites and nothing to do with them, so I managed to utilize two of the foodstuffs I had out for the mayo (egg whites and lemon juice) and turn it, at least, into a very effective brightening, tightening facial mask.
If you’re brave enough to make your own mayo, I’ll give you the recipe I botched tried at the bottom, and you can have a moment of pure gooey bliss – hopefully both on your face and in your mouth. (Dirtier minds would run with that one …)
Egg White, Honey, and Lemon Juice Facial Mask
- 1 egg white
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp honey (or 1/2 tbsp honey powder)
Mix everything together until smooth and apply to a clean, freshly washed face. Allow the mask to dry, and then rinse well. Very well. As with any tightening mask, it’s best to lay down while letting it dry, as gravity and drying will pull the face downward. If you’re standing up, that means you’ll end up looking just a tad bit droopy.
A little about the ingredients in this mask:
Egg whites. These make an excellent mask base, as they’re full of protein (which is great for nourishing the skin) and they do provide a great deal of firming power AND help reduce the appearance of your pores. I don’t use egg whites often, though, because they can be a little stinky, and I like masks that smell like flowers or fruit. But that’s just me. Egg whites have been babe-ing up women for millenia, so there must be something to it.
Lemon juice. Super powerful astringent here, which keeps oil and pimples at bay. Lemon juice also lightens the skin, reducing discoloration and giving your face a fresh glow.
Honey. Honey should be in everything all the time, it’s so awesome. In masks, it provides antibacterial power, luxurious moisturizing, and (surprisingly) a bit of drying. Honey’s great for all skin types and for just about any facial care reason you can think of.
Okay, for the mayo, you need: 1 egg yolk, a splash of water, a pinch of salt, and 1 cup of olive oil. Basically, you start whisking the yolk and the water until it’s nice and yellow. Continuing with the (wrist-splitting) whisking, you dribble in the olive oil slowly (you better not stop whisking) and whisk until it starts to turn frothy and a little white in color (I never managed to get it to that part). When that happens, you can go a little faster with the olive oil (WHISK WHISK WHISK) until it’s all combined and hopefully what you’d sort-of consider mayonnaise. You can whisk in the lemon juice at the end, if you want the “brightening” that it gives.
Mine never got to the sort-of mayonnaise part. It remained oily sludge. Don’t tell BP.
Any of you notable cookish type people know what I did wrong with my mayo? Any suggestions? Tips? Want to come over and make me some? I’ll supply the turkey and bread.
LUSH : A Review and a Crunchy Good Time
I live in France, and I learned to make mayo homemade from my mother in law, but it was really tricky at first. Now I do it all the time with no problem. Here’s how (btw the proportions don’t matter – more egg yolks make it more yellow, but the emulsion happens all the same.) : Take one or more egg yolks depending on how much mayo you want. Make sure they’re perfectly separated from the whites – any white in it and it won’t work! In a metal bowl, whisk in a bit of dijon mustard (about a tbsp) to the egg yolks first, for some reason this really helps the emulsion to take hold. Take a hand blender on low-medium, and ever so slowly drizzle a tiny thread of oil (any oil) into the yolks while blending. Go super slow (but don’t stop) until the emulsion takes hold, then you can add it a bit faster. Once this step is done and you have your basic mayo, add some vinegar, salt and pepper, and whatever seasonings you want to put in it (chives, dill, paprika, etc.) For example, capers, onions and chopped pickles will give you tartar sauce. If you want to use the egg whites, you can beat them into stiff peaks and them add them to the finished mayo. Its called a mousseline. And that’s it! I hope it works, and if it doesn’t you can use the failed mayo attempt as vinegrette (salad dressing) at least. Good luck!
Any of you ever heard of a blender…??? hmmmmmmmm
lemon ang honey facial scrub.. i use it for a month now it is very effective…i use it for twice a day……
I just did this today for the first time–it’s really nice! I would have used a little less lemon juice, but it so beautifully sucked all the ickies out of my skin…lovely!
(I combined it with doing egg yolk and olive oil in my hair, so I got to use the whole egg!)
I hope you’ve had more luck with your mayo! I have several allergies that make me have to make my own, and I’ve got that puppy down to a simple science. Forget whisking it by hand. That method should be dead to you. Get your beaters out and follow Alton Brown’s recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/mayonnaise-recipe/index.html). One yolk will leave you with a more runny consistency. I’m a two yolker. Don’t change any amount in the recipe except for the yolks. It will rock, I swear.
I remember my grandmother did something similar to this probably 30 years ago! She probably used it much longer than that. She was a good looking woman in our little town. She actually made the paper for getting a new hair do once. I hate I don’t have the clipping. It’s hysterical!
I may have to crack some eggs! 🙂
I’ve got to get over my camera shyness!
I loved this! It made my skin so soft! Thanks 🙂
I too am out of mayo and I swore that I would not buy any more. Haven’t tried it yet, but Julia Child’s mayo recipe is supposedly “legendary”. I’ll let you know how I do. Salad dressing is just SO much more forgiving!
Ok. I knew I loved you – you have an Alice Waters cookbook.
And
Mayo is tough to make! Ive never gotten it to my satisfaction…