You are going to think me mad, but all this week we are going to talk about mayonnaise. In the South we think about it as a condiment, but it is in fact a sauce that is served cold.

The French love it, as do the Italians, and, you might be surprised to know, there are dozens and dozens of recipes for it. So why do our grocery stores have at best only two varieties, plan and made with olive oil? Go figure.

Mayonnaise is an emulsion sauce. That means an egg yolk is required to make liquids, like lemon juice, wine, and vinegar, that normally will not hold hands, mix smoothly together. It is a bit of a laborious task, and there is a learning curve, but once you overcome it, you will never go back to store bought.

At first we will discuss recipes using store-bought mayo as a base, but later in the week we will get to the homemade variety.

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Green tomato mayo

Try this green tomato mayo recipe on your next burger:

1/2 cup mayo1 cored, diced green tomato4-6 basil leaves julienned 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Combine the ingredients thoroughly, although you do not want it to be too smooth. A small lump or two never hurt a thing. Make sure to refrigerate before serving. Your burgers will never be the same!