Mayo is a delicious and versatile condiment. You can slather it on burgers, use it as a dipping sauce for celeriac chips or use it as a base for aioli or salad dressings. But if you're trying to eat real, whole foods, you'll want to avoid a number of processed mayos sitting on shop shelves.
A 100% olive oil mayonnaise is mayo made with olive oil rather than other processed seed oils. While a reputable olive oil mayo brand can be difficult to find, there is one brand that make a high-quality product. Below, we share what olive oil mayonnaise is, why it's healthier than regular mayo and — if you can't find it in shops — how to make it at home.
What Is Olive Oil Mayonnaise, Exactly?
As the name entails, 100% olive oil mayonnaise is mayo made with solely olive oil rather than vegetable or seed oils (sunflower oil, rapeseed oil or canola oil) or blends of oils. Read all about why you need to avoid seed oils for your health in our Pillar Article:
👉 The Unsaturated Truth: Drop Seed Oils If You Want To Be Healthy.
In the past few decades, overly processed products gave mayonnaise a bad rap. However, ‘real’ mayonnaise is quite healthy since it’s made of just a few ingredients: olive oil, eggs, acid (usually apple cider vinegar), and Himalayan salt.
When you read the nutrition label for a jar of mayo, you should be able to read (and recognise) every ingredient. If you can't find a high-quality brand in your area, you can easily make olive oil mayo at home.
How Do You Make Homemade Mayonnaise?
Making mayo is far easier than you might believe. Even if it's your first time making homemade mayo, you simply need five minutes and a few basic ingredients:
- A high-quality olive oil: Always search for a high-quality light tasting olive oil that is free from hexanes or solvents, as some lower-grade oils can be blended with vegetable oil, or might use chemicals in the extraction process [1].
- Acid: You will need acid, such as lemon juice, lime juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. We typically use apple cider vinegar to make our homemade mayo.
- Whole eggs: Separate the egg yolk from the egg white, using only the yolks. Search for the highest quality eggs you can find, opting for organic or free-range eggs whenever possible.
- Spices: You will need Himalayan salt. You can also make your own flavoured mayos by adding a dash of sriracha, mustard, black pepper, garlic, paprika or hot sauce.
Homemade Olive Oil Mayonnaise Recipe
This recipe is adapted from our avocado oil mayo recipe. To make mayo at home, you will need a Mason jar and some sort of blending device, such as a whisk, immersion blender (preferred) or a food processor.
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 0 minutes
- Total time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- 1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or to taste)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 250 ml olive oil (light tasting)
- 1 pinch Himalayan salt
- Add-ins: Garlic powder, sriracha or hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Separate one egg, placing the yolk in the bottom of a Mason jar. Discard the egg white or save for another recipe.
- Add the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice to the mason jar. With an immersion blender, slowly blend the egg mixture until well combined.
- Keeping the immersion blender running, slowly — more slowly than you believe necessary — pour the olive oil into the jar. Turn the immersion blender up to high speed, blending as you pour in the remaining olive oil.
- The mayo will begin to thicken. Once the mayo reaches your desired texture, slowly remove the immersion blender from the jar.
- With a spoon, mix in the salt and any optional flavours. Consume or refrigerate immediately.
Recipe Notes
If you do not have an immersion blender, you can make homemade mayo by whisking with a hand mixer (although you should place the ingredients in a bowl, not a Mason jar). You can also use a blender, but you should add the olive oil 2 tablespoons at a time, blending each time you add more oil.
Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Do not store at room temperature due to the raw eggs.
Why Is Olive Oil Mayonnaise Healthier Than Regular Mayo?
Olive oil mayonnaise is preferable to regular mayo as it's gluten-free, low in carbohydrates and free from additives and seed oils. Most shop-bought mayonnaise products are made with seed oils, which can be harmful to your health. Therefore, you should always consume mayo made with a healthy oil such as avocado oil or olive oil.
Seed and vegetable oils — such as sunflower or rapeseed — are heated to high temperatures during the extraction process, then treated with chemicals to make oil. During the manufacturing process, seed oils are deodorised, which produces trans fats which are harmful to human health. Finally, chemicals are added to the oils to improve the colour of the oil [2].
In addition, seed oils contain high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. If you're wondering, "But wait! I thought fat was good for us?" you would be correct — but hear us out.
For optimal health, a balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid consumption should be maintained. At one point, humans consumed omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids at a 1:1 ratio. Unfortunately, modern diets — filled with vegetable oils — have caused consumption of omega-6 fatty acids to skyrocket. Today, humans consume 10 or even 20 times the amount of omega-6 fatty acids as they do omega-3 fatty acids, which leads to chronic inflammation [3].
Chronic inflammation, in turn, leads to a number of risk factors, like cardiovascular disease. This is highly ironic, considering products filled with vegetable oil (like margarine) are advertised as a ‘heart healthy’ substitute for olive oil, butter and other fats.
Enjoy Olive Oil Mayonnaise in These Recipes
Olive oil mayonnaise can be used in a number of recipes as part of a real food healthy eating plan. While the following recipes are made Hunter & Gather avocado oil mayonnaise, you can easily swap in olive oil mayo instead:
- Keto dill stuffed eggs
- Dijon pecan salmon
- Keto chicken dippers
- Keto fathead low-carb sandwich rolls
- Asian cashew coleslaw
- Crispy BLT cassava wraps
Eat Olive Oil Mayonnaise Rather Than Regular Mayo
Olive oil mayo is made with olive oil. Since it's made with olive oil, it fits within a real food, ancestral eating plan — avoiding overly processed, inflammatory foods (like vegetable or seed oils).
While a high-quality olive oil mayonnaise can be difficult to find, you can make it at home. To make homemade mayo, you simply need high-quality olive oil, egg yolks, acid and salt. If you're looking for a high-quality olive oil mayonnaise brand, we have some good news coming your way. Stay tuned!
All information provided on our website and within our articles is simply information, opinion, anecdotal thoughts and experiences to provide you with the tools to thrive.
It is not intended to treat or diagnose symptoms and is definitely not intended to be misconstrued for medical advice. We always advise you seek the advice of a trained professional when implementing any changes to your lifestyle and dietary habits.
We do however recommend seeking the services of a trained professional who questions the conventional wisdom to enable you to become the best version of yourself.
RESOURCES
[2] https://chriskresser.com/how-industrial-seed-oils-are-making
-us-sick/
