mayo (or aioli, if you use olive oil) is pretty easy on paper: an egg yolk, a squeeze of lemon, oil, and lots of whisking.

but then, of course, there’s the salt.

the first (and only successful) time i made mayo was a proud moment. i was dazzled by the transformation that occurred from the raw ingredients to the finished product, and all with my own hands! it had the right amounts of lemon juice and garlic, and a nice consistency that was not too thick or thin. but there was one problem—i didn’t salt it well enough. and while the end result looked and smelled good, it most certainly tasted blandtastic.

tonight i tried it again, but this time i was determined to salt it right. i added a pinch of salt, then another, then another. then came the emulsion, the vegetable oil, and plenty of whisking. many minutes later, the end product looked right and smelled right, but the taste?

O.M.G. SO. SALTY!!@!!@!11

this is officially the first time i have ever made anything that actually had too much salt in it! i am not sure whether i should be happy, or be really disappointed i screwed up an otherwise promising mayonnaise. on the up side, i have a better idea of what the upper limit is in the way of seasoning… so perhaps i should oversalt things more often?

and so, the salt saga continues…