Note that Finnish eggs are among the safest in the world to be eaten uncooked. To find out why, read here.

Using a hand/immersion blender is one of the easiest and quickest ways to prepare mayonnaise. In addition, you do not have to worry about the mayonnaise getting curdled, even if not all the ingredients are at the same temperature.

See a recipe for a classic mayonnaise.

1 medium to large egg
pinch of salt
pinch of white pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
(1 - 2 tsp tarragon vinegar or lemon juice)
200 ml light-tasting oil (turnip rape, sunflower, grapeseed, peanut or corn oil)

lemon juice
pureed garlic cloves
pureed or chopped hot peppers
pureed anchovies
chopped fresh herbs
chopped pickled gherkins, capers etc

To get the best result, it would be best to bring all the ingredients to room temperature, but this is not absolutely necessary. Although I have used ingredients of different temperature (ie fridge-cold eggs and room-temperature oil), the resulting mayonnaise has never curdled.

Break the egg in the mixing beaker, which usually comes with the hand blender, or if you do not have one, use any other tall and narrow container, just wide enough to fit the blade end in. Add the salt, pepper, mustard and some vinegar or lemon juice, if you like.

Insert the blender into the container until it is touching the bottom. Without switching the blender on, pour in the oil. It is very important to use a narrow-enough container, so that the oil does not mix with the other ingredients straight away, but remains as a layer on top of them.

Without lifting the blender, switch it on. Slowly start lifting the blender, allowing the oil to start blending with the other ingredients, forming a thick mayonnaise.

If you prefer, season the mayonnaise with a seasoning of your choice. You can dilute the mayonnaise by adding a dash of vinegar, lemon juice or water, if it is too thick to your taste. Store the mayonnaise in a tightly closed jar in refrigerator.