Hollandaise

[ORChick]

As a follow up to the "which oil?" thread - which kind of morphed into a mayonnaise thread - I thought I might bring up the subject of Hollandaise sauce. I love Hollandaise sauce, and have been making it since I was a teen (when my mother more or less turned over the cooking to me). I love the taste, but I also love the history (of this, and of other foods) Hollandaise sauce was a product of Protestant French refugees (Huguenots) fleeing from (Catholic) France. Mayonnaise was a product of southern France/northern Spain, made of egg yolks and olive oil (and a few other things). Hollandaise was a product of French women, who had fled to Holland, searching for a substitute for their mayonnaise. Holland has no olives, but is famous for its dairy products. It is also, generally, cooler than the Mediterranean coast. So mayonnaise (a cold sauce made with olive oil) morphed into Hollandaise ( a warm sauce made with butter). It is excellent with vegetables (we had some with cauliflower this evening), and, of course, as a part of eggs benedict.
This sauce I have no problem making in the blender, though, for purists, it might be better made with a whisk.. It goes faster, and works perfectly. 3 egg yolks in the blender with a pinch of salt and another of cayenne pepper. Add a tablespoon full of lemon juice. Blend for a moment to mix. Melt 1 stick of butter till just bubbly. While the blender is going (slowly) pour the butter in, as slowly as possible. Scrape the sauce out of the blender with a spatula, and keep warm. Best way is to but the jug that the sauce is in into a pan of warm water. Don't let it get too hot or the eggs will curdle. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge, and reheated gently in or over hot water. There are several off shoots of this sauce; one of my favorites is Bearnaise sauce, which is essentially the same but made with vinegar (rather than lemon juice) and tarragon.

 

[k15n1]

I remember the first time I made mayonnaise. It was so inspiring to make something that I normally had to go buy.

I usually use a whisk because a big batch will spoil before I can use it. I sometimes make a 1-yolk batch of mayo quickly and it's a small enough batch that we can use it in a week or so if we try. Sometimes that's still too much.

BTW, in most cookbooks there's a lot of stress put on adding as much oil as possible. This is a fancy idea and required only if you believe deep down in your heart that mayo only tastes right if it's white (like how cola doesn't taste right unless it's brown) but you can add less oil if you want. If a 1-yolk batch is too big, add less oil and call it good.

 

[ORChick]

I remember the first time I made mayonnaise. It was so inspiring to make something that I normally had to go buy.

I usually use a whisk because a big batch will spoil before I can use it. I sometimes make a 1-yolk batch of mayo quickly and it's a small enough batch that we can use it in a week or so if we try. Sometimes that's still too much.

BTW, in most cookbooks there's a lot of stress put on adding as much oil as possible. This is a fancy idea and required only if you believe deep down in your heart that mayo only tastes right if it's white (like how cola doesn't taste right unless it's brown) but you can add less oil if you want. If a 1-yolk batch is too big, add less oil and call it good.

Of course you can use as much or as little oil as you like; however, you should be aware that the oil is what makes it thick. The more oil you can get into the emulsion the thicker it will be. Stopping too soon with the oil is what makes a runny mayonnaise. I find about 3/4 c. to 1 c. oil is about right for one egg yolk.

 

[Cindlady2]

I am assuming that you have your own chickens so you can trust your eggs. That is one of the reasons I wanted chickens! So many recalls and scares about supermarket eggs and chickens I couldn't take it anymore! Besides the fact that those eggs have no taste! Now that I have my own eggs I'm back to making yummy sauces and mayo!

 

[ORChick]

I am assuming that you have your own chickens so you can trust your eggs. That is one of the reasons I wanted chickens! So many recalls and scares about supermarket eggs and chickens I couldn't take it anymore! Besides the fact that those eggs have no taste! Now that I have my own eggs I'm back to making yummy sauces and mayo!

Yes, I do have chickens, and the eggs are wonderful. I also didn't do much in the way of raw egg sauces or egg nog for many years before I got the hens. Now I kind of go overboard

 

[~gd]

I am assuming that you have your own chickens so you can trust your eggs. That is one of the reasons I wanted chickens! So many recalls and scares about supermarket eggs and chickens I couldn't take it anymore! Besides the fact that those eggs have no taste! Now that I have my own eggs I'm back to making yummy sauces and mayo!

Yes, I do have chickens, and the eggs are wonderful. I also didn't do much in the way of raw egg sauces or egg nog for many years before I got the hens. Now I kind of go overboard

I suppose I should warn that people who tend chickens tend to become immune to the common diseases that they may have due to the daily exposure. Eggs really haven't become more dangerous over the years but people have tended to lose imminity as the eggs were produced in factory farms. We had an incident at a church supper where everyone had the eggnog but only the non-farm people beccame ill. It had the public health people confused until they questioned the farm folks and found that the common factor to being well was chickens. Even the farmers that bought eggs from the supermarket became ill.

 

[ORChick]

I am assuming that you have your own chickens so you can trust your eggs. That is one of the reasons I wanted chickens! So many recalls and scares about supermarket eggs and chickens I couldn't take it anymore! Besides the fact that those eggs have no taste! Now that I have my own eggs I'm back to making yummy sauces and mayo!

Yes, I do have chickens, and the eggs are wonderful. I also didn't do much in the way of raw egg sauces or egg nog for many years before I got the hens. Now I kind of go overboard

I suppose I should warn that people who tend chickens tend to become immune to the common diseases that they may have due to the daily exposure. Eggs really haven't become more dangerous over the years but people have tended to lose imminity as the eggs were produced in factory farms. We had an incident at a church supper where everyone had the eggnog but only the non-farm people beccame ill. It had the public health people confused until they questioned the farm folks and found that the common factor to being well was chickens. Even the farmers that bought eggs from the supermarket became ill.

That is interesting, ~gd. One would think that very new chicken keepers would tend to get sick as well, not having had time to build immunity. Or, perhaps they do but no one has studied that.
It may only be perception and not fact, but I also believe that the eggs from healthy hens, living a proper chicken-y sort of life (not in a cage, or cooped up with thousands of others, and little room to move), and eating a healthy diet have less likelihood of harboring illness causing bacteria. Not to mention that they are certainly fresher. But whatever the case may be, I would not feel comfortable eating raw supermarket eggs anymore, although in my youth Hollandaise sauce was often served, and raw egg eggnog appeared every Christmas, and homemade mayonnaise on occasion. And DH's very favorite chocolate indulgence is basically just chocolate and raw eggs (and a bit of cognac). I didn't make that for a number of years either, before I got the hens.

 

[baymule]

I am assuming that you have your own chickens so you can trust your eggs. That is one of the reasons I wanted chickens! So many recalls and scares about supermarket eggs and chickens I couldn't take it anymore! Besides the fact that those eggs have no taste! Now that I have my own eggs I'm back to making yummy sauces and mayo!

Yes, I do have chickens, and the eggs are wonderful. I also didn't do much in the way of raw egg sauces or egg nog for many years before I got the hens. Now I kind of go overboard

I suppose I should warn that people who tend chickens tend to become immune to the common diseases that they may have due to the daily exposure. Eggs really haven't become more dangerous over the years but people have tended to lose imminity as the eggs were produced in factory farms. We had an incident at a church supper where everyone had the eggnog but only the non-farm people beccame ill. It had the public health people confused until they questioned the farm folks and found that the common factor to being well was chickens. Even the farmers that bought eggs from the supermarket became ill.

If ya'll used my great-Grandmother's eggnog recipe, nobody would have gotten sick. It calls for 12 jiggers of whiskey, which cooks the eggs. We never get sick, but we might get snockered!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

ummmmmmmmmm... baymule.... can you post that recipe????

 

[baymule]

ummmmmmmmmm... baymule.... can you post that recipe????

Yes mam, I sure can!

Mamma Wall's Eggnog

12 eggs, seperated
12 heaping tablespoons sugar
12 jiggers whisky
1 pint whipping cream
a little milk

Beat the egg whites until stiff
Beat the whipping cream until stiff
Beat the yolks, add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until all are well mixed
S-L-O-W-L-Y add jiggers of whisky to yolks while beating them. The whisky cooks the yolks, if you just dump the whisky in, you will have scrambled eggs!

Now you have lots of bowls and a big mess! Time to assemble........in a punch bowl, dump in yolk, sugar, whisky mixture. Add whipping cream. Blend with wire whisk. Add beaten egg whites, blend with whisk. Add a little milk, blend mixture well. Pour in a cup, top with ground nutmeg or cinnamon and enjoy!

We have been making this in our family for over 140 years! My 90 year old mother remembers her grandmother making this on Christmas day at breakfast. Even the children got eggnog! What is so funny, is my family was not "drinkers" but we sure swigged down the eggnog. I got nog when I was a kid too!