Leading toy maker in Japan releases DIY mayo-making machines

20:18 cherishe 0 Comments

We take the Ultimate MYO for a spin and see if it truly is the limit of mayonnaise makers.

It should come as no surprise that Japan by and large loves mayonnaise. The tangy condiment has its own museum and pop-up cafe in celebration of the mild yet sharp flavor it adds to anything from pizza to melon.

But for us culinary laymen and women its a mysterious substance, made by alchemists with years of training in the dark arts.

Luckily, Takara Tomy, the same company that brought us the Pikachu Pillow and figures of animals with really big chins, released the Ultimate MYO (Kyukyoku MYO) machine that allows even a butterfingers like our own K. Nagahashi to create fresh and delicious mayo.

He headed over to his nearest Yodobashi Camera and picked one up in the toy section for 4,500 yen (US$41). Among toys seemed like an odd location for a mayonnaise maker, as kids probably weren’t clamoring for a chance to make their own condiments, but our reporter decided not to question the marketing experts at Takara Tomy.

Upon returning home, he removed the unit from the box, unscrewed the bottom panel and inserted three C-sized batteries.

Then, he placed the meringue cup at the bottom and the yolk tray on top of it. All this talk of meringues and yolk trays was getting him really excited for some serious cooking.

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He cracked an egg into the tray, separating the yolk and white.

Following that, he put the yolk into another cup along with some vinegar, salt, and pepper. Then with both cups on the machine he slapped on the lid and turned it on for two minutes to mix things up a bit.

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After that, he added some oil through an opening in the lid and let the machine spin for another three minutes.

Finally, he emptied both cups into a bowl…

…and mixed them together gently with a spatula.

And that was it. Nagahashi was now staring at a bowl of mayonnaise of his own making. He couldn’t wait any longer and tasted a spoonful of his creamy deposit. It was really fluffy and had a nice balance between sharp and smooth flavors.

But to really get a feel for his toy-made mayo, our writer tried it out on several dishes that were recommended on the product website: a hamburger patty, toast, shrimp pilaf, salad, fried chicken, and yakisoba.

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And wouldn’t you know it? Everything tasted fantastic. The mayo tasted like a tart cloud that melted in his mouth but was never overpowering to the other dishes. The shrimp pilaf was especially nice because his mayo was baked into it.

The homemade mayo was much lighter than commercial kinds and perhaps most importantly, there was the sense of satisfaction that came with making one’s own mayo that made it taste better than anything he would ever be able to buy in the store.

The Ultimate MYO stripped away all the mysticism surrounding mayo production and put the power of its creation into the hands of Nagahashi. In fact, it would probably even be easy to do with any old mixer and another method of separating egg yolks, like with the plastic bottle trick.