We don't use much mayonnaise in our house but occasionally we want some for salads, sandwiches and sashimi tuna. Lots of mayonnaise recipes are tedious and difficult but if you have an immersion blender, it's a really quick process. I'll put the recipe after the video.

Step 1: Ingredients

1 cup of vegetable oil
1 whole large egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Some folks use blends of oils like olive oil, canola oil and the like. I just use store brand vegetable oil and it works out great.

I don't know if this recipe would work with a pasteurized egg. I'm not that worried about salmonella but I know some folks are.

I've tried different kinds of vinegar and I find that ordinary apple cider vinegar works best and I get the best texture at the end.

Step 2: Mix It Up

In a tall, cylindrical container, add the egg, oil, seasonings and vinegar.

Without turning it on, plunge the immersion blender to the bottom of the container. Make sure the blades of the blender go directly over the egg yolk. Turn on the blender, hold it there for a few seconds then slowly pull the blender to the top of the mixture. Lower the blender to the bottom again. Repeat these gestures one or two more times to thoroughly blend the oil into the mixture.

It's as simple as that. You have fresh, homemade mayonnaise without preservatives, hydrogenated oils or artificial ingredients.

Cover with plastic wrap or put in a clean jar with a lid. It will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 or 5 days.

Step 3: Now What?

To turn this into wasabi mayo, first make some wasabi paste:

Blend two teaspoons of wasabi powder with two teaspoons of water. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes. Blend this into the mayonnaise. You can add more but hold onto your hat because too much wasabi can peel the paint off you!

The wasabi mayo is good on sashimi tuna or you can make an interesting salad by blending edamame, a little chopped onion and a couple tablespoons of the mayo.

The plain mayonnaise is good for making potato salad, cole slaw or you can blend it with ketchup and pickle relish to make Thousand Island dressing.

Experiment and share your stories with me! I'd love to hear them!

Step 4: Kitchen Science

So how does this work?

You are making an emulsion which is a mixture of two liquids with different specific gravities or that have different types of molecular bonding.

Vegetable oil is made up of non-polar molecules. Eggs are largely water which is made up of polar molecules.

Mixing them with the immersion blender forces these molecules to come close together. Another way to do this is to start by putting the egg in a regular blender then drizzling oil in slowly. If it happens too quickly, the oil binds with the oil and the water binds to the water and you wind up with a gloppy mess that doesn't combine completely.

Commercial mayonnaise uses a chemical called an emulsifier to make this process happen.