Mayonnaise Is an Emulsion Held Together by Egg
Mayo is short for mayonnaise. The sauce is a suspension of oil in water that should not hold together.
Mayo is short for *mayonnaise*, a thick cold sauce of oil, egg yolk and an acid. Oil and water do not mix, and mayonnaise is mostly oil suspended in a little water. It holds because egg yolk contains lecithin, a molecule with one end attracted to water and the other to oil, which coats each oil droplet and stops them merging. Adding oil too fast overwhelms the lecithin and the sauce splits. The name's origin is disputed, with Mahón in Menorca the most cited candidate.
- A cold sauce. *A spoon of mayo.*
- Mayonnaise — the full word. *Mayonnaise.*
- An emulsion. *An oil-in-water emulsion.*
- Lecithin — the emulsifier. *Lecithin.*
- French — *mayonnaise*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | mayo | Mayo. |
| Full form | mayonnaise | Mayonnaise. |
| Related | aioli | Aioli. |
| Related | emulsion | An emulsion. |
| French | mayonnaise | Mayonnaise. |
- Add a little mayo.Food.
- Lecithin holds it together.Chemistry.
- Adding oil too fast splits it.Technique.
How an emulsion holds
- Oil and water separate because their molecules repel
- An emulsifier has one water-loving and one oil-loving end
- It coats each droplet, preventing them merging
- Egg yolk lecithin does this in mayonnaise
- Too much oil too quickly overwhelms it and the sauce splits
Short for *mayonnaise*, French, of disputed origin, often linked to Mahón in Menorca.
Why does mayonnaise hold together?
Egg yolk lecithin coats each oil droplet, with one end facing the water and one the oil, preventing the droplets from merging.
Why does mayonnaise split?
Usually because oil was added faster than the lecithin could coat it, leaving droplets free to merge.