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Salt and Pepper (One teaspoonful of Vinegar)
One teaspoonful of Vinegar.
One teaspoonful of Tarragon Vinegar.
Two Eggs. Half a teaspoonful of made Mustard.
One gill of Salad Oil.
Put the yolks of eggs into a basin, with a saltspoonful of salt and half a saltspoonful of pepper; break the yolks with a wooden spoon, and pour in, one drop at a time, the gill of oil, whisking it well the whole time. At the last, stir in the vinegar and the mustard. The sauce, when properly made, must be as smooth and as thick as double cream.
This is a classic hand-whisked mayonnaise, built on the same principles a modern cook uses: cold-ish yolks, oil added at a crawl, and constant agitation. The quantities are given in Victorian household measures, and the egg count has to be inferred.
- How many yolksThe instructions call for "the yolks of eggs" but no number is stated in the ingredient list as printed. For a gill of oil, two yolks is the standard proportion; three gives a stiffer, richer sauce.
- A gillIn a British cookery book a gill is a quarter of an imperial pint, 5 fl oz or about 150 ml. American readers working from a US gill would get 4 fl oz. Either will emulsify with two yolks.
- SaltspoonfulA saltspoon is a quarter of a teaspoon, so this is 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. White pepper is often preferred for a pale sauce, though the recipe does not specify which.
- Made mustard"Made" mustard means mustard already mixed to a paste with liquid, not dry powder. Dijon or a plain English prepared mustard both work; if you only have powder, slake it with a little water first.
- The hingeDrop by drop really does mean drop by drop for the first third of the oil. Once the emulsion has visibly taken and thickened, you can move to a thin steady stream. Adding oil faster than the yolks can absorb it is the commonest way this fails.
- If it splitsStart a fresh yolk in a clean basin and whisk the broken sauce into it a spoonful at a time. Salvage is quicker than starting over.
- Acid at the endThe vinegars and mustard go in last, which keeps the emulsion tight while it is fragile and lets you judge the final seasoning. It will also loosen the sauce slightly, so aim for a shade thicker than you want before adding them.
- Raw yolksThe eggs are never heated. Use pasteurised eggs, or the freshest you can get, keep the sauce refrigerated, and use it within two days. Avoid serving it to anyone pregnant, elderly or immune-compromised.
- YieldAbout three-quarters of a cup (rather less if you work from a US gill), enough to dress a salad for four to six or to accompany cold salmon or chicken.
Mayonnaise entered the English high-class repertoire through French professional kitchens, and books of this type treat it as a foundation sauce to be memorised rather than an occasional novelty: master the yolk-and-oil emulsion and you have the base for tartare, remoulade, green sauce and a dozen cold garnishes. The tarragon vinegar alongside plain vinegar suggests a well-stocked larder, where herb-steeped vinegars may have stood ready as flavouring shortcuts. The instruction to make it "as smooth and as thick as double cream" is the period's usual test, given before thermometers or standard measures had reached the domestic kitchen; the cook judged by eye and by the drag on the spoon.