Adding a teaspoon of water to the yolks before dripping in the oil helps create a stronger and more stable emulsion, Dori said. She picked up the secret in culinary school years ago, and her mayonnaises haven’t collapsed since.

The first time I tried it, I achieved the lightest, most ethereal mayonnaise I’d ever made. It tasted deeply of the good olive oil I used, seasoned with lemon and mustard. We ate it with roasted asparagus, dunking the spears two, three and four times into the tasty sauce until we swabbed the bowl clean. The next day I whisked together another batch, stirring in minced anchovies at the end. It made some of the finest egg salad I’d ever had.

Heady with success and inspired by the flavors on offer at Empire, I knew a mayonnaise spree was in the making. Dancing in my head were visions of sweet potato salad tossed with pungent lime pickle mayonnaise, moist pieces of swordfish slathered with garlicky aioli, and hot biscuits spread with bacon mayonnaise and topped with slices of ripe tomato.

Why did a teaspoon of water make such a difference? And why hadn’t anyone told me this before?

The only cookbook I knew of that mentioned adding water to the yolk before whipping was published by the Culinary Institute of America, and so I called there and spoke with Tucker Bunch, a chef and instructor.