Got mayo? If it's summer, keep this recipe anchor in your fridge

Try to experience summer without a jar of mayonnaise. I dare say a week will pass without me reaching for the jar in my refrigerator. It anchors cold chicken, tuna and egg salads and hold together every sandwich from a BLT to a hamburger. I need it to make tartar sauce, remoulade and aioli. My menus need it!

By the simplest definition, mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, egg yolks, some type of acid (lemon juice or vinegar) and seasonings. It originated in Spain and was known as the “sauce of Mahon” after a French duke sampled it there at the port.

French chefs soon were recreating it as a sauce served with only the best meats and called it “mahonnaise.” The delicacy arrived in America in the early 1800s and was tedious to prepare. That all changed with the invention of the electric blender.

Suddenly, the laborious task of making mayonnaise (as it was became known then) became much easier. It was jolted into popularity for everyday consumers by Richard Hellman, a New York delicatessen owner who began selling his mayonnaise in 1912.

At first it was sold in wooden containers, but by 1913 it was in such demand that it was packaged in large glass jars. From there, mayonnaise never turned back and became a premier condiment rather than a sauce only served at special occasions.

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The basic recipe has endured even though there are reduced fat and fat free versions (please no!). If egg yolks are omitted, the mixture is salad dressing rather than mayonnaise. Although it is shelf-stable until opened, it needs refrigeration after that.

Homemade mayonnaise is incredible and very safe to consume if you cook the eggs and a bit of water in the top of a double boiler. This helps thicken the end product giving it the consistency of commercially made.

You asked for it

Linda from Nashville would like to know the proportion of oil and vinegar to make homemade salad dressing.

Linda,

I use 2/3 cup of oil to 1/3 cup vinegar. Then add a teaspoon of sugar and a half teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Since my herb garden is exploding, I usually add a tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs.

Tammy Algood is the author of five cookbooks and can be seen on “Volunteer Gardener” on PBS stations in Tennessee. Follow her at www.hauteflavor.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Got mayo? If it's summer, keep this recipe anchor in your fridge