Vegan Mayo

So, today I tried my hand at vegan mayo.  I gotta admit, I was pretty nervous about this one.  I found a simple recipe here, and I wanted to see if I could actually pull it together, make it taste good, and use it in tonight's planned spinach and artichoke dip. 

Here's the exact recipe I used:

3/4 cup raw cashews (soaked 8 hours in water, drained, and patted dry)
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup grape seed oil
1 tsp Grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup water

1.  Soak cashews in water for 8 hours, drain them and pat them dry.

2.  Combine cashews and sea salt in food processor until it makes a thick paste.  You will probably have to scrape the sides a time or two. 

3.  While processor is going, slowly drizzle in the lemon juice, grape seed oil, and maple syrup.  *Note:  Make sure you use grade B maple syrup instead of grade A.  It has a deeper flavor.  Grade A may be too sweet*

4.  Allow all ingredients to whip up for a few minutes - scraping sides and bottom a couple of times to make sure it all gets incorporated. 

5.  Finally, you will slowly stream in the water.  If you look at the link above, it screwed me up because I thought I was done after step 4.  I had even cleaned up my food processor when I realized the error, so you are not finished until you add water.  :)  Also, as an FYI:  You may have a runny mixture, but it will firm up in the fridge.  Mine wasn't runny - it was just about the right consistency, but it is possible.

Now, for the part you really want to know about - Does it taste like mayo?  Yes...actually it does.  It is pretty dang close to mayo.  It's not a Kraft mayo (which was my personal favorite) but more of a cross between Hellman's and Kraft.  So really it's pretty dang good.

How much does it make?  About a cup and a half.  How long does it last?  I'd say a couple of weeks.  It will be gone in another day or two.  I used 1 cup in my spinach and artichoke dip, which was FABULOUS.  So yeah...it goes quickly.