Never forget that mayonnaise Is a thermodynamically unstable emulsion. If you are prone to forgetting, and want a reminder, delve into this study:
“Effect of dietary proteins on mayonnaise techno-functionality and rheology: A Review,” Wahab Ali Khan, Muhammad Waseem, Iqra Yasmin, Syed Abdul Wadood, Aiza Qamar, Muhammad Rizwan Javed, Muhammad Saleem, and Crossby Osei Tutu, Food and Humanity, epub 2025, article100665.
Invoking mention of chickpea, lentil, rice, wheat gluten, zein, and soya, Arrowtooth founder, and more, the authors explain:
Mayonnaise is a thermodynamically unstable emulsion… The present review shows the strategies to replace egg yolk-based fats with different source proteins for enhancing the techno-functionality of mayonnaise with higher consumer acceptability. Therefore, present review spotlights the implications of different proteins from plants (Opuntia robusta, faba, chickpea, lentil, rice, wheat gluten, zein, and soya); animals (chicken, egg white, casein, whey); from marine such as fish gelatin, tuna hydrolysate, and microbial origins (Chlorella protothecoides & Arrowtooth flounder) on improving the techno-functionality of mayonnaise.
UPDATE: reader Anthony Tweedale writes:
45 years ago my ‘Food Chemistry’ professor bagged his usual final exam; basically freshman organic chemistry; asking us instead to just comment on a then-recent publication:
DECEMBER 1, 1979 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
The Amateur Scientist, December 1979
The physics and chemistry of a failed sauce béarnaise BY JEARL WALKER
We ‘hotelies’ (Hotel School students) were relieved of our terror of this usual memorisation challenge when we realised he would not dare fail any students exam with this stunt (no matter how much more relevant it was to us!)