We make it in ~1 cup batches in our food processor, and surprisingly, it has yet to go bad on us. We've definitely kept it for over 2 weeks, and it's been fine. Homemade all the way!

For me, it's so not worth the hassle of making it when Duke's does a darn fine mayo. Even comes in convenient jars at the store :-)

Thanks for the analysis! :)

Surprising about the cost. And also...maybe a little scary. What the heck is in that blue-topped jar?!?

I used to buy (and eat) a lot of mayo. I started making my own (tastes better), but then had to face its high fat content. Now, I've switched to making vegannaise (with tofu), not quite the same, but close. Curious? check here.

@carieshmarie - It's good to know that it keeps longer than 2 weeks!

I don't use mayo often, so it winds up going bad before I can finish even a small store-bought container. Always feels very wasteful. I'm definitely going to try making it myself as needed instead.

Emma, just curious, where are you getting the two week shelf life info from? My sense from reading other articles has been that homemade mayonnaise will keep for more like one week, if even that. And since the main concern here is salmonella, would you even be able to tell if the mayo was spoiled? I don't mean to be a Negative Nancy, but the main reason I hardly ever make my own mayo is because I am never able to use it all in under a week. If it really does have a two week shelf life, I would probably start making it more often!

If you can get your hands on McCormick Mayonesa, DO IT. It's the best mayo I've ever had...as good as or even better than homemade, in my opinion:

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/50356_66519248361_158789_n.jpg

I make my own during Passover, because the pesadicka stuff is awful, or when we run out. Otherwise it's Hellman's all the way.

I have to admit, homemade tastes better though. :)

Neat! I think I'll try to make it soon and then put it in some egg salad for sandwiches. I definitely won't stop buying the jars of mayo, though, for convenience purposes, but like you said, for a special recipe or occasion, homemade mayo might be just the trick to getting that special something added to a favorite recipe.

@kitty teeth - it's something I remember my sanitation instructor saying in culinary school. Most leftovers should be tossed after a week (strictly speaking), but I remember her saying that because mayo is acidic, the bacteria doesn't grow as easily and the mayo will really last longer (which I extrapolated to mean 2 weeks!). That was "off the record" though, so it's not something you'll find in any official guides.

I'm definitely curious to hear other people's experiences. How long does your homemade mayo usually keep?

kat88 - price difference probably due to economies of scale...canola oil will not cost $0.59 for half a cup etc.

I've never had home-made mayo but I'm very curious to taste the difference. I'm going to try to make it this weekend.

OMG... my husband and I had the funniest/longest evening of our lives trying to make mayo for our homemade and scrumptious crab cakes -- to no avail! I had made it before and had no problems, however that evening between running out of ingredients one by one, living in a very rural area without a grocery and whatever took me over that made it impossible not to make a broken mayo-- we finally gave up -- so when I read this post, I had to laugh a little at that memory...I'm still a little scared to try making my own mayo again...despite its deliciousness.

I make my own. I don't eat very much so that way I can make just one cup at a time. Also, I think canola oil is bad for you/has very little, if any, health benefits. I first made it with olive oil, which i like but it has a stronger flavor. Last time I made it with grapeseed oil which is lighter and it was delish! I don't keep it longer than 2 weeks.

I made mayonnaise once and it was really tasty but ultimately not worth the effort or the ingredients because I can't go through even a single batch (1 egg + 1 cup oil) even if kept well enough for two weeks. That's a lot of oil to keep throwing out. With a small store-bought jar that keeps a couple of months I at least have a chance of going through it all.

Also, I don't like making things I'm going to serve other people with homemade mayo. I'm ok with the tiny, tiny risk of salmonella, but I know not everyone is (pregnant, immunocompromised, whatever).

D'oh! Just realized that I figured the cost of the mustard wrong (was calculating the cost of a teaspoon, not 1/4 teaspoon)! I'm fixing it now.

*** Homemade mayonnaise = 20seconds ***

http://www.lastappetite.com/how-to-make-mayonnaise-in-20-seconds/

I only use extra olive oil but I do love mayonnaise. :)

For me, it really depends on how it's being used. If it's really being featured, as a sauce in a fancy meal or in large quantities like potato salad, I'll make it. But to spread on a sandwich once a week or so, I keep a store-bought jar in the fridge.

I enjoy making mayo and it's a real treat when we have it around but I only do it for special dishes or occasions. And since I find Hellmann's to be tasty and convenient, I buy 90% of the time. And thanks for the cost breakdown, very interesting!

I must agree with McCormick Mayonessa. That is the only Mayonaisse I have bought for the last 3 or 4 years. It rivals home made.

This makes me laugh. As Americans, we tend to value homemade over store bought just because. Yet, I have several French friends who stock up on Hellmann's when they are in the US; I have heard interviews with French foodies who do the same. While I do make mayo for on occasion, I have no problem starting with Hellmann's (or Best foods when in the Western US) as a base for most things.

As someone who does not own a food processor or blender and only the oldest and crappiest of immersion blenders, I do not think I have the wrist/arm strength to make my own, so I will stick to Hellman's canola mayo. I only ever use it sparingly on sandwiches anyway. If I'm using it in a salad (like potato or chicken salad), I often add half sour cream, which lightens it up without losing the delicious fattiness.

Someday I will make my own, but until then? Hellman's is much more convenient. And to the people who can't use the homemade kind fast enough? Give it away to your friends! I doubt they will complain about regular gifts of a few ounces of fresh, homemade mayo.

What is considered a "good quality egg"? I would like to make it myself, but I'm scared of food poisoning. I do hve a hand blender and a jar though.

Making mayo is sooo easy that I haven't bought any in going on a year.

The majority of the time, I just use a whisk to make it instead of breaking out the hand blender. Sometimes doing dishes is such a downer.

I havent quite gotten the hang of homemade but I want to master it as it does win the taste contest. I agree with another commenter about feeling wasteful b/c I generally never get through a whole jar of hellman's before I throw it out, so I suspect that homemade is actually cheaper (at least for me). The fact that I can control what goes in it (good quality oil, organic pasture eggs, etc) is a huge plus.

I have been making my own mayo for years. I recently bought a new immersion blender, as my braun got very old and slow, the process now takes about 1 minute. I don't think I would buy mayo again unless there were no electricity. I could use my whisk, but it does take a lot longer than lovely mr. immersion......

Buy. I hardly use mayo so its not really worth it to make it with its short shelf-span. Perhaps the next time I'm making a mayo-intensive recipe i'll give it a shot

Homemade mayo is actually only good for about a week. I have made mayo a few times and it really isn't all that. Hellman's tastes great. I looked at the ingredients and there is nothing weird in it. It's pretty much the same stuff I make homemade with.

Homemade is the best! And a stick blender is the easiest way to do it and almost never fails. The only time I ever buy mayo is when I'm going camping and need some to last a while before it is used. I even make a Miracle Whip version by adding extra apple cider vinegar and sugar to the recipe.

According to Alton Brown, if you leave the mayo out on the counter for 4-8 hours (or more) after you've made it, the acid (lemon juice) in the mayo will kill any salmonella.

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season4/Mayo/MayonnaiseTranscript.htm

"Now I usually cover my fresh mayo and leave it at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours. Now take it easy. Take it easy. I know. Leaving raw eggs in this zone sounds like crazy talk. But here's the thing. There's a small, tiny, infinitesimal, little chance that, uh, that egg yolk was contaminated with salmonella. Now the cold of the refrigerator would prevent that salmonella from breeding but it will not actually kill it. Acid, on the hand, will. And with a pH of, wow, 3.6 this is a decidedly acidic environment. But for reasons that still have lab-coaters scratching their heads, acid does its best bug killing at room temperature. So leaving this out for 8, 10, even 12 hours is sound sanitation. After that, straight to the refrigerator for no more than a week. You can even put it in the door."

Definitely seems like a lot of work for something more expensive. I might consider making it if I were having people over for a dinner that included mayo, but we don't eat it very often (who does?) and it would just spoil. A bought jar will keep good basically forever, and is apparently cheaper so it's clear which is the better choice for us.

Canola/vegetable oil isn't good for you and finding a mayonnaise that doesn't contain these in the store is very difficult. We use light or refined olive oil, it has almost no taste of it's own. Using regular olive oil produces really gross mayo.
In addition, finding a dressing that doesn't contain these is hard also. So we make mayo about 2 times a month and use it alone and as ranch dressing (mayo is common ingredient in most creamy dressings).

I'm dying to experiment with homemade mayos... Eggs are my favorite food and I can eat mayo by the spoonful. I'm trying to restrict my calories though... might have to have a splurge day just for mayo!

On a side note- I will never enjoy Hellman's the same way again after having Duke's. I've compared the ingredients and the only thing Duke's has that Hellman's doesn't is paprika. So, if/when I make my own, I'll definitely be putting in paprika. I find even if I mix paprika into Hellman's it improves the taste, aka makes it taste more like Duke's.

Hellman's mayo along with other products that I favored are now on the chopping block. Soy and Corn are now a heavy GMO product. Don't take my word for it, check the topic out. The only time soy is safe is when it is fermented. I also use only olive oil now instead of butter. LOL butter now has GMO'S in their product

my family has made fresh mayo for about 20 years and though our recipe is different -- ours keep in a our frige for minimum 6 weeks. we usually finish it in 4 weeks... i would never make mac salad or egg salad with bought mayo... my friends like the treat of having fresh things when they come for a meal... lots of things are easier bought but most fun memories are made in happy kitchens making things from scratch with your loved ones!