Food & Drink · 1
What is the main ingredient in traditional French mayonnaise?
Answer
Egg yolks and oil
Mayonnaise is a cold emulsion sauce made from egg yolks whisked with oil (vegetable or olive oil), bound by the lecithin in egg yolks, and flavored with lemon juice or vinegar. The emulsification process breaks oil into tiny droplets suspended in the egg yolk base, creating a stable, creamy sauce. French cooking traditions refined mayonnaise into a Mother Sauce that serves as the base for countless other sauces.
💡 Did you know?
Mayonnaise's name likely derives from Mahón, Spain, where a Spanish general created this sauce in the 1750s; the emulsification science was revolutionary.
Other options people guess
- Eggs and vinegar
- Cream and mustard
- Eggs and butter
Topics
- sauce
- French
- emulsion
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