Vegans everywhere spend a lot of time making their own alternatives to animal-based foods things like mayonnaise. This can be a great success, but sometimes you’ll run into frustrating problems that leave you grappling with less-than-ideal sauces and other creations.
If your vegan mayo has failed to thicken, there’s a chance that you have not added enough oil to your mixture. It’s also important to thoroughly chill your ingredients because mayo gets thicker once it has been stored in the fridge for a few hours. You might need something like aquafaba to help it bind and thicken.
We’re going to use this article to find out more about why vegan mayo sometimes stays too runny, and how to solve this issue.
Why Might Vegan Mayo Fail To Thicken?
If your vegan mayo just won’t thicken, there are a few potential explanations, but it’s possible that you’re using the wrong ingredients, or you’re not making the mayo cold enough. Here are a few of the things you should check when you are making vegan mayo for the first time:
- What kind of milk you are using
- How much oil you are using
- Whether you are using a binding substance, such as aquafaba
- Whether you are chilling the ingredients sufficiently
It’s worth running through the list and thinking carefully about each one. The biggest reason that homemade vegan mayonnaise doesn’t thicken is that the oil particles don’t get suspended in the protein properly – which makes the mayonnaise unstable, and causes the ingredients to separate and turn runny.
We’ll look at this fix first, and then cover the temperature issue.
How Do You Mix The Milk And Oil?
One of the first things to consider when getting your oil and milk to mix is the kind of milk you are using. Of course, you can’t use cow’s milk, so you’ll be looking for a plant-based milk – but there are a lot of them.
Most vegan mayonnaise recipes call for soy milk. This is because soy is high in protein, which really helps the oil to emulsify, creating that thick, delicious texture. Some people do use other milks (especially vegans with a soy allergy), but in general, soy is the best milk to make your mayonnaise thicken.
If you aren’t able to use soy, you might want to consider using an emulsifying substance, such as lecithin. Some people add aquafaba instead, as this gives the mayonnaise mixture thickness and mimics some of the properties of an egg. It’s also readily available and tends to work reliably. If you’re struggling with runny mayo, this is certainly worth trying.
Is Chilling Important?
Warm oil and milk simply will not emulsify well. You need to get both the oil and the milk cold before you start mixing them, and then keep them cold. Place everything in your fridge a few hours before you are ready to start making the mayo, and then work quickly and return the finished mayo to the fridge as soon as possible.
If your mayo is too warm, it is very likely to stay runny. You should also remember that mayo gets significantly thicker once it has been stored in the fridge for a while, so don’t worry if your mayo is a little thin before it has been refrigerated. It should thicken up nicely after it has been chilled.
Can You Fix Runny Mayo?
If you’ve taken your mayo out of the fridge after it’s fully cooled, but it’s still runny, you might be wondering what to do next. It won’t always be easy, but sometimes you can salvage runny mayonnaise.
First, chill some more oil, and beat this into the mixture. It might seem odd to be adding more liquid when the mayo is already too runny, but the oil is key to the emulsification, and it will help it to thicken up. Make sure you whisk it in very thoroughly to make the mayo more viscous.
Alternatively, try whipping a small amount of aquafaba into the finished mayo. This is a very protein-rich liquid, so it will help to increase the protein levels and stabilize the emulsion. However, aquafaba isn’t as stable as eggs, so you may still find that the mayo becomes runny after a while, and doesn’t hold its thickness.
The other option is to add vegan lecithin, such as soy lecithin, to duplicate the properties of the egg. The lecithin shouldn’t change the flavor of the mayo and you’ll only need a very small amount, but this does require you to buy more ingredients. It’s a good solution, however, and definitely worth trying if you are constantly struggling with thin mayonnaise.
Conclusion
If your mayo is too thin, first check that you are using soy milk or another protein-rich plant milk, and then make sure all of your ingredients are cold. If your mayo is still runny, whip in some extra oil, some aquafaba, or some soy lecithin to see if you can stabilize the emulsion.
