How to make Fermented Mayonnaise
Growing up, my mom always loved mayonnaise and I thought she was crazy. Fast forward 30 years and I’m just as obsessed with mayo as she was!
I’ve been very honest about my not-so-perfect obsession store-bought mayo, it’s the one ‘bad’ food that you’ll frequently find in my fridge.
And I refuse to apologize.
We all have our one thing that we can’t give up and that is totally OK!
Yes, I’m giving you permission to abandon perfection.
While ideally you’ll make your own homemade mayonnaise or choose a better brand – I totally understand if you don’t. I’m right there with many of you, I’ve made homemade and I’ve tried every healthier brand on the market and I just sincerely can’t.
If you are looking for healthy store bought mayo, check out these:
But here’s the amazing thing – no matter what mayo you use, even store bought, you can quickly and easily make it into a probiotic-packed, fermented food!
New to Fermented Foods?? Not sure why they are so important?? Click HERE to learn more!
How to Ferment Mayonnaise (& other Store Bought Condiments)
We all know that if you let food set out at room temperature too long, it will spoil and potentially make you sick if you eat it (aka bad bacteria taking over.) However, by simply adding beneficial bacteria, YOU control the process. So instead of the bad guys taking over and ruining your food, the good guys multiply creating a fermented food.
It’s that simple.
For each 1 cup of store bought or homemade condiments, add 1 tablespoon of Whey (or vegetable starter, if dairy intolerant) and mix well. Transfer into a glass jar, cover with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band or string. Allow ketchup, mustard, salsa, horseradish, etc to ferment for 3 days at room temperature… Mayonnaise only needs 8 hours at room temp to ferment.
Cover fermented condiments with an airtight lid and transfer to the refrigerator for storage. They will keep for 6+ months.
NOTE: I feel very strongly that all fermented foods taste better when completely chilled  vs at room temperature. So please wait to taste until your foods have had 24 hours in the fridge for the best flavors.
More recipes like this can be found in my cookbook Fermented Foods at Every Meal – BUY HERE.Â
Hi Haley, I bought your book off Amazon and am reading it now. I had the urge to search out fermented mayonnaise because I want to understand the process. I’ve made Sauerkraut, salsa and fermented beets. I get that the bacteria use the sugars and starch as fuel. Where I’m puzzled is how do they feed off the protein and fat in eggs and oil?
That’s a great question! My thoughts are that (a) your starter culture will still continue to ferment and (b) eggs contain carbohydrates too as well as carbs in other ingredients in your mayonnaise like a little mustard, lemon or sugar.
I would like to make the fermented Mayo. Can I use Bubbies brand fermented sauerkraut juice? I would prefer not to use the whey. Thank you.
You can use the juice of any active ferment – caution the sauerkraut juice may make your Mayo flavor change slightly, like kraut but it will definitely work!
Very interesting! My family are Mayo lovers too. We prefer Best foods/ Helmand.
I’m trying to eat more fermented food.I love kimchi and sauerkraut.
Anyway… where do I get whey? Any particular whey? I’m allergic to wheat , so I think whey may not be good for me.
Are there any other ways (additives) to ferment Mayo? …… thanks, I think I’m going to enjoy you site. Gary
There is no wheat in whey, so don’t worry!
https://healthstartsinthekitchen.com/how-to-make-whey/
What if you ferment your mayo for more that eight hours? I left mine out over night and should have put it in the fridge before I went to bed and forgot, is it still ok to eat do you think? it was out about 12 hours more than the recommended 8. Should I just throw it way or dare to give it a try? My thoughts are it would have just continued to ferment and be higher in beneficial bacteria, but Im not sure. Would be nice to hear your opinion. Thanks!
I personally would toss it. The safety of raw eggs is the issue.
Hayley, what is vegetable starter that you mention? Would ‘culture starter’ from Body ecology work? I don’t do to well with dairy. Does this process alter the taste of the condiment? Thank you!
There are many different vegetable starters available, since I ferment often and don’t have a dairy intolerence I don’t do much more than list it in my recipes as an idea…. The flavor does change but it’s hardly noticeable.