The Battle of Port Mahon

Last Thursday, April 19th we celebrated the 256th anniversary of the French victory over the British at the Battle of Port Mahon.  You missed it you say?  What a pity!  Because as a result of that battle we all enjoy something that was created to celebrate that decisive victory.
     Mahon is the capital of Minorca, the eastern most of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.  The battle fought there was one of many between the British and the French during the Seven Years' War.  To read about the battle in more detail please click on the highlighted red phrase above.  The French forces led by the infamous Duke of Richelieu sent the British packing.  Then to celebrate, Duc de Richelieu ordered his master chef to prepare a banquet in his honor.  So the chef went all out and put together a meal like none other.  But unfortunately he was hindered by limited supplies.  He had intended to create a wonderful French sauce by whipping together cream and egg yolks, but sadly realized he had no cream available.  So in an act of creativity (or desperation) he substituted olive oil for the cream and Voila! a new culinary creation was born.  In honor of the victory the chef named his new sauce after the site of the battle, calling it Mahonnaise.
     Mayonnaise is still made by combining olive oil and egg yolks, blending in lemon juice and/or vinegar as well.  The eggs bind the ingredients together into an emulsion, a mixture of two liquids that normally cannot be combined.  Emulsification is accomplished by slowly adding one ingredient into another while rapidly mixing the two.  Technically, emulsions are colloids, that is, heterogeneous mixtures composed of tiny particles of one liquid suspended in another immersible material.
     That's probably TMI for most of you.  But suffice it to know that with patience and a strong fore arm you can create your own version of the sauce that celebrates the Battle of Port Mahon.  For your own recipe, click on to this link provided by The Food Network and Alton Brown.