Jottage from Lancaster - mayonnaise

I love mayonnaise. I know that it's sometimes called 'white death' as it is so full of calories and oil and cholesterol and all that stuff we shouldn't be eating. In my Atkins diet spell I had this feeling that I could eat as much of the stuff as I wanted to as it had no carbs - one reason I think that the sensational weight loss of my first few weeks faltered and died very quickly one I learnt the tricks of finding my way around the diet and sabotaging it. 


Then I read an article that said that eating veg was so important for our health that it was better to add things to make them palatable - even oil or mayo - than not eat them at all. We all know by now that some oils are really good for you so by now I felt that eating mayo had turned from white death into a top health food. But there was a little matter of calories - having too many of the wretched things is something I need to avoid. So then I turned to Hellmann's. Even Hugh says that he uses 'good quality mayonnaise' from a jar so I felt quite justified in buying Hellmann's Extra Light Mayonnaise - all the mayo-ness and fewer cals. But since my HFW encounter I have been more wary than ever of eating anything I can't pronounce so I went to find out just what was in the Hellmann's stuff. This is the list I found:


Water,Modified Maize Starch ,Spirit Vinegar ,Pasteurised Free Range Egg & Egg Yolk (3.7%) ,Sugar ,Salt ,Vegetable Oil ,Glucose-Fructose Syrup ,Citrus Fibres ,Flavourings (Contain Lactose) ,Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum) ,Colours (Titanium Dioxide, Beta-Carotene) ,Preservative (Potassium Sorbate) ,Lemon Juice Concentrate ,Antioxidant (Calcium Disodium EDTA)


Whereas I can pronounce most of it, and some of the ingredients are actually what you would expect to find in mayo (vinegar, egg yolk, salt), I am not so sure about modified maize starch or glucose-fructose syrup. So I reached for River Cottage Everyday and found a mayo recipe and made up a batch. I know just what's in it (wine vinegar, rapeseed oil, free range egg yolk) and overall I think I would prefer to eat a small quantity of what I can pronounce than slather on a list of ingredients which are put together by someone who doesn't even know how to place a comma.

Wobbly, gorgeous home-made mayo. Simply the best!