Oil, egg yolk, salt and vinegar or lemon juice — those are the common ingredients typically found in a jar of mayonnaise. Or mayo, if you will. Mayo may mainly be used as a spread for sandwiches and burgers and a dip for fries. But there’s actually more to it as we list 9 Surprising Ways You Can Add Mayo To Your Cooking.
1) It Makes The Grilled Cheese Sandwich Crispier
When it comes to making a grilled cheese sandwich, most of us would use these three common ingredients: white bread, American cheese and of course, butter. But if you want to make it crispier, your added secret ingredient would be mayonnaise.
Simply spread mayo on each slice of the white bread. Then, toast them on a pan greased with melted butter. Remember to place the mayo part of the bread face down, followed by topping it with a slice (or two) of American cheese and cover it with the other slice of bread. The top slice should have the mayo facing side up. Toast for around 3-4 minutes or at least until the bottom part turns golden brown. Flip it to the other side carefully using a spatula and add more butter on the pan if needed. Repeat the same process before removing it from the pan. And that’s it! What you’ll get here is a nice, golden brown grilled cheese sandwich with an amazingly crispy texture. Not to mention adding mayo to a grilled cheese sandwich gives it a subtle, tangy taste.
2) Helps To Make Your Chocolate Cake Moist And Tender
Of all the ingredients for making cakes at home, you wouldn’t think that mayo fits well in the baking category. But as it turns out, mayo happens to be a secret ingredient for… baking moist and tender cakes! Or more specifically, chocolate cakes.
Here’s why: Apparently, the egg yolk in the mayo adds richness to the cake while the oil makes it tender. And that is not all, as the vinegar and acidity of the lemon elevates its overall flavour. According to Serious Eats, you need to add 1 1/4 cups of mayonnaise in a mixing bowl along with other cake ingredients (e.g. eggs, sugar and vanilla extract) and beat them all together using an electric hand or stand mixer.
3) Makes Your Mashed Potatoes Richer And Creamier
Making homemade mashed potatoes typically consists of potatoes, butter, cream/milk, salt and pepper. But mayonnaise? As unconventional as it may sound, adding mayo to mashed potatoes help to make it more moist, creamier and richer.
4) Helps To Prevent Protein From Sticking To The Grill
Hate the sight of your, say fish or chicken sticking to the grill upon the grilling process? Here’s a solution that you might want to try: Prior to grilling, simply brush a thin coating of mayonnaise on your proteins. Not only does it help to prevent sticking but it also adds a subtle, acidic flavour. Other benefits of brushing mayo on the proteins? Crispy texture and better browning.
5) Add Mayo To Minced Meat
If you are making a homemade burger, try adding mayo to your minced meat before you form them into a patty. Apparently, mayo helps to give extra fat and moisture to the minced meat, making it juicier and more flavourful. This hack particularly works well on minced beef.
6) Incorporate Mayo In Breaded Chicken Breasts
Forget about the usual ingredients of eggs and flour for a change. If you want the breadcrumbs to stick to the chicken upon cooking, substitute the two aforementioned ingredients with mayonnaise. Not only does the mayo act as a “glue” between the breadcrumbs and chicken but it also provides a beautiful, golden colour.
7) Makes Your Scrambled Eggs Fluffier
Still using milk or water to keep your scrambled eggs moist? Well, why not try this nifty hack instead? By using mayonnaise, that is! It turns out that according to PureWow, adding mayo to scrambled eggs help to make it fluffier, thanks to its emulsifying ingredients.
Also, this tried-and-tested method has been approved by Alton Brown of “Food Network” and “Iron Chef America” himself, which can be found in his cookbook “EveryDayCook”.
8) Make An Easy Marinade With… Mayo!
Scratching your head as to what kind of ingredients to add for marinating your fish, beef or chicken? Try this easy marinade by using mayo as the major ingredient. Why? Because it has fat and acid that makes mayo all the more suitable for a marinade recipe. Using mayo as the base, you can experiment with other flavours (e.g. garlic, black pepper and paprika) to boost your homemade marinade.
9) Use Mayo To Make A Quick Alfredo Sauce
Okay, if you want an instant alfredo sauce, you can always use the ready-made or powdered varieties sold respectively in a jar or packet. Alternatively, there’s another way you can try here. And that is using mayonnaise without relying on the usual time-consuming recipe of making a roux (a mix of flour and butter).
