Ugh, the "avocado" mayo I've been using isn't

(Bob M) #1

They found a lot of products supposedly made from avocado oil have seed oils added to them. Including the one from Costco that I’ve been using.

This is not great.

#2

Just saw that, the Primal Kitchen ones were the ones that started that since being sold to Heinz, HUGE surprise!

You’d think these companies would be intelligent enough to not screw with them. Clearly their target audience unlike the rest of the planet WILL be checking up on them.

(Central Florida Bob ) #3

Didn’t we go through this with olive oils a few years ago?

A “couple of” or more years ago, we switched to making our own mayo, using a good brand of olive oil and a recipe found online. The only issue we ever had was the mayo “breaking” (not forming a good emulsion) which I cured by buying some lecithin, and we haven’t had broken mayo since.

When you have control over every ingredient, and a batch of mayo lasts around two weeks, the 10 minutes to make a batch ain’t much.

Avocado oil tastes rather different than olive oil, so some research to find out which brands aren’t cut would probably be a good first step.

(Doug) #4

:smile::stuck_out_tongue: Yes, and it was UC Davis there too…

But it really wasn’t that the olive oils were “fake” or were adulterated with cheaper oils/nut, seed, vegetable oils.

More that they didn’t smell good, that they were cloudy or rancid from being too old and/or exposed to light, and not qualifying for ‘extra virgin.’

(Central Florida Bob ) #5

Thanks for finding that! Interesting.

We’ve been using Filippo Berio olive oil, and a lighter tasting oil of theirs. We have some extra virgin that I use in some recipes, like Caesar dressing. Sometimes.

(S O) #6

I think there was a scandal like this 2-3 years ago. I was recently at Costco considering some avocado oil thinking surely there must be nothing to worry about by now and then saw this post and some vids on YouTube.

(Joey) #7

Hey, can you point me in the direction of the source where you saw this? I just read the link above and there was no mention of this brand.

Along with listing avocado oil (as the oil ingredient) Primal Kitchens explicitly states on the label there’s “NO SOY OR CANOLA” in their product. That would be quite a lawsuit if not true, given consumers with soy allergies. :thinking:

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Would appreciate seeing the source that accuses them of lying about these claims.

(Edith) #8

I think I’m being blind. Where did you find the list with adulterated mayo?

Edit: I just found this: https://ucdavis.app.box.com/s/6ogs4l0ogplunooktwryr5b1m6k2xr9u/file/2347698985551

(Jane) #9

Yep - Primal Kitchen didn’t pass the oil profile. Heinz should be sued, along with all the other companies that failed. And they should have to add the name of the oil they are cutting the avocado oil with on the label.

They could get away with the front label “Made with” avocado oil if it has a drop of it in it. But not the ingredient label. Or the label that says “No Soy, No Canola” unless they are using a different seed oil.

I tried it years ago and didn’t like the taste but I remember it being crazy expensive. Corporate greed. Pathetic.

(Joey) #10

Thank you for finding this (I missed it). Primal Kitchen has been our go-to mayo brand based on the label.

Been swindled all this time. :grimacing:

Time to make mayo at home. Got any favorite recipes? Use of lecithin (which is typically derived from soybean or sunflower)?

EDIT: Interesting NIH article on avocado oil:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6600360/

(Central Florida Bob ) #11

The recipe I have is more or less a printed version of this:


I say “more or less”, because what I make is practically twice what this says now: two cups of oil instead of one, two eggs instead of one.

Since I’ve made a batch pretty much every two weeks for a couple of years, and my wife made it for years before me, I know it works.

2 eggs - room temperature
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp sunflower lecithin
2 tsp lemon juice (I use 1 tablespoon - it’s 3 teaspoons instead of 2)
2 TBSP white vinegar
2 cups light olive oil

My olive oil and white vinegar are always room temperature, while the lemon juice is kept in the refrigerator.

I use an immersion or stick blender “Amazon’s best” but food processors work.

  1. Put all ingredients EXCEPT the oil in a one quart jar. Run the stick blender for 10 to 15 seconds. Turn it off.
  2. I find that with lecithin, this is much easier and more tolerant than recipes that avoid the lecithin. Starting with a cup of olive oil, add about 2 ounces of olive oil and use the blender for 10 to 15 seconds. move the blender around in the jar to ensure there’s no volume left unblended. Again after about 10 seconds, turn off the blender.
  3. Add another two ounces of olive oil and repeat. Then repeat adding two oz. of oil at a time until you’ve used up the first cup.

At this point, you can either repeat with two ounces of oil at a time, or use more oil at at a time. I have never broken a batch while using the lecithin, but I think my wife broke one batch that way, I just wasn’t watching at all, let alone closely enough to know. I generally just do the two oz at a time. It’s not like it saves a lot of time.

HTH

(Joey) #12

Fabulous. I’m on it! :pray:

#13

This is a nicer to read version / summary of the study. The main point of the article I originally saw was pointing out that Primal Kitchen is now Heinz and how like everytime that happens, the product goes down the toilet.

https://localfats.com/blog/avocado-oil-packaged-foods-uc-davis-study#:~:text=Two%20products%20were%20consistent%20in%20both%20lots%2C,stearic%20acid%2C%20all%20within%20the%20Codex%20ranges.

This is the “media kit” that UC Davis released

https://ucdavis.app.box.com/s/6ogs4l0ogplunooktwryr5b1m6k2xr9u

(Joey) #14

Well, I went for the 1 egg scale as a first attempt.

Spent a week or so trying to find pasteurized eggs at 3 different major grocery chains nearby. Nada.

So I had to study up on pasteurizing my own egg yolk. Followed the somewhat awkward instructions, getting up to 160 deg F for a moment, then off the heat.

FWIW, I used xanthan gum instead of lecithin… but otherwise measured everything carefully.

To say it was a bust is an understatement. Besides making an oily mess, the mixture never took hold as anything with the consistency like mayo. Sloppy salad dressing at best.

I don’t think I “broke” it because it never became anything in the first place. Ended up much the way the ingredients started out. I used a handheld immersion mixer, so I assumed I was armed like a pro. :thinking:

And as salad dressings go, while I like vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, and olive oil, I wouldn’t want any of this slop on my salad.

Alas. I may try again sometime. But first I have to get this mess cleaned up. :roll_eyes:

(Central Florida Bob ) #15

Sorry to hear it didn’t work out. Since I’ve never used anything other than “plain 'ole grocery store eggs” I don’t even know if they’re pasteurized. If it never even got any texture other than liquid, the only times I ever saw that were back before I tried using lecithin. Never tried xanthan gum.

I refer to the eggs we use as manatee eggs because of the packaging. And since I don’t know where you are and can’t know if that means anything to you, manatees are mammals that live in brackish to salty water all around Florida. Also known as sea cows - and cows aren’t a good source of eggs, either.

Most recipes say to add the oil a drop or two at a time until you start to see evidence of it forming the mayo. As I’ve said, with the lecithin, I generally put in about 2oz of oil at a time, far more than they say to start with. Just did a batch a few days ago.

(Bob M) #16

I was trying to find some way to add fish to my meals, as my O6/O3 ratio is terrible, even though I avoided seed oils and even nuts for YEARS. The problem – I think – is that chicken and pork could still have a lot of O6, and I don’t get enough fish. I don’t like much fish, basically only salmon and trout. I don’t mind white fish like cod, but I find fish hard to cook well. I can also eat cans of sardines, but I forget to do so, and it’s a bit stinky for the family.

So, I started making canned fish + mayo + a bunch of other stuff (olives, some nuts, onions, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper, etc.). These were my lunches that I’d put away and eat while no one was here. That was the way I was going to get more O3 in fish. The mayo also helps the fish, as some canned fish is awfully dry.

Doesn’t work that well, though, if your mayo has a lot of O6.

My wife sent me an Instagram video about the original study. That guy had a follow up where he discussed what they tested to determine the oil wasn’t avocado oil. He thought that the companies (like Primal) didn’t know and thought they had bought avocado oil. The company or companies “upstream”, which were selling “avocado oil”, were diluting the avocado oil. That makes sense to me, though of course I have no way of verifying anything.

For olive oil, I only buy it from Costco, and try to buy American if they have it. They haven’t had it for a while, though.

I can make my own mayo (assuming the oil – either olive or avocado – is real), but it’s easier to buy it sometimes. There are a bunch of “one minute mayo” recipes that use an immersion blender, and I’ve made many with these. Here’s an example:

I just thought avocado mayo was a good way to add some fat while also eating fish.

(Joey) #17

@ctviggen Thanks for sharing this recipe link. My first attempt was a major bust. But as I work through the rest of my stock of “Chosen Primal” brand mayo, I’ll be brave enough to try again. Next time it’ll be this approach.

My concern remains over using a non-pasteurized egg - and associated salmonella risk. Cannot find pasteurized grocery eggs anywhere around here.

Do others worry about such things, pasteurize their own eggs, or simply cast risk to the winds? :egg: