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Mayonnaise Dressing
One teaspoonful of mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth saltspoonful of cayenne, yolks of two eggs, one pint of olive oil, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, one cup of whipped cream if liked. Mix the dry materials in a shallow dish or soup plate. Add the yolks of eggs. Stir well with a silver fork or wooden spoon. Add the oil a few drops at a time, stirring until it thickens. When the dressing is thick, thin it with a little lemon juice, then add oil and lemon juice alternately, and lastly the vinegar. The dressing liquefies as soon as mixed with the vegetables or meat; therefore it should be made stiff enough to keep its shape until used. One cup of whipped cream may be added before using if liked.
A classic hand-beaten mayonnaise, generous enough to dress a large party salad. The proportions are sound; the technique needs only a little translation.
- The hinge: oil, slowlyTwo egg yolks are being asked to carry a full pint of oil, roughly a cup per yolk: a generous but workable ratio. The first quarter-cup must go in very slowly, drop by drop, and the emulsion should be visibly thick before the pace increases.
- SaltspoonfulA saltspoon is a quarter teaspoon, so one-fourth of one is a scant pinch of cayenne — about 1/16 teaspoon. The dressing is not meant to taste hot.
- A pint of oilTwo US cups. The finished yield is roughly two and a half cups, enough for a salad for twelve or more; halve everything for household quantities.
- Silver fork or wooden spoonThe point was to avoid iron and other reactive metals, which discoloured and flavoured acidic mixtures. A stainless whisk in a stainless or glass bowl is fine now, as is an immersion blender in a tall jar.
- TemperatureCold yolks and cold oil are the usual cause of failure. Bring both to room temperature first, and keep the bowl steady on a damp cloth if working by hand.
- If it breaksStart a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and beat the split mixture into it drop by drop, as if it were oil. The whole batch is recoverable.
- Which olive oilTable oil of the period was generally milder than a modern peppery extra-virgin, closer to today's ordinary olive oil; and machine-blending an assertive extra-virgin can accentuate its bitterness. Use a gentle oil, or cut it with a neutral one.
- Raw yolksThe eggs are never heated. For anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised, use pasteurised eggs; keep the finished dressing refrigerated and use within a few days.
- The whipped creamFolding in a cup of whipped cream gives what some period books call a cream mayonnaise -- lighter and milder, and often served with fruit and chicken salads. Add it shortly before serving, as it slackens on standing.
Mayonnaise is generally traced to the Mediterranean tradition of oil-and-egg emulsions, with the familiar origin story linking the name to Mahon on Minorca and the French capture of the port in 1756; the connection is traditional rather than documented, and rival derivations from moyeu, an old French word for egg yolk, are just as plausible. By the period of small American salad books of this kind, mayonnaise was a standard dressing for the fashionable composed salad -- chicken, lobster, potato, fruit -- and a cook working at home would generally have beaten it by hand, commercially jarred mayonnaise reaching American groceries only in the years around 1910. The optional cup of whipped cream is a period touch that softened the dressing for delicate salads and helped it look handsome heaped on a lettuce leaf, which is what the last line about keeping its shape is concerned with.