As a lifelong Yankee and only occasional eater of mayonnaise, I am a loyal Hellman’s customer and was unaware of the existence of Duke’s until just recently.
I picked up a jar of Duke’s in Cleveland (that bastion of Old Dixie), noting the vibrant yellow hue (extra egg yolks) and absence of added sugar.
Just curious about others’ takes on whether this stuff is better than Hellman’s, or not, or how it’s different, or whether it’s good-in-salads-but-not-sandwiches or vice versa, and why.
(As everyone knows, Hellman’s west of the Mississippi is Best Foods)
(Eaters of Miracle Whip are courteously disinvited to this thread)
I was a very firm devotee of Best Foods growing up and as an adult. Then I moved here to South Carolina, was advised to try Duke’s, and did so. I won’t use any other mayonnaise since.
To me, the key is that you can always sweeten it up with your own sweetener if you want. I find the tangy taste is better in most salads and on sandwiches. Indeed, I often now dislike store-brand potato salad and macaroni salad, because they inevitably use something more like Hellman’s.
We’ve only tried Duke’s within the past year, it had never been available here. I like it, but my teen absolutely loves it, she thinks it’s a world of difference. I do think it’s better.
This is interesting. I didn’t know that there was a national divide over mayonnaise.
Many years ago I learned that it was handy to have a jar of real mayo on hand; so that if I wanted to have an anchovy mayo with lamb or a lime mayo with fish or a sriracha mayo with wings or any other flavored mayo, it was just a moment away.
At the time I was told the only such mayo was Hellman’s and though, then, it was difficult to get I have used it ever since. I will keep an eye out for some Duke’s and see what the difference is.
Best Foods/Hellman’s. The tangy thing is exactly what I dislike about Duke’s. In fact most fancier, specialty store-bought mayonnaise I’ve tried has gone too heavy with the citrus or similar notes for my taste. Just doesn’t work for me. By the same token I also really dislike Miracle Whip, which is similarly a little tangier.
I have some Kewpie in my fridge now. It’s got a much eggier taste than Hellmann’s, with no sweetness, and the vinegar tang is slightly different, as they use rice vinegar. The biggest thing for me, though, is that it has this salty umami savoriness from the MSG in it. I love MSG and use it in my cooking, but I’m not sure I really like it in my mayo. It tastes right for me on sushi rolls and things like that, but when it comes to mayo for sandwiches, I prefer Hellmann’s, or Costco’s Kirkland mayo.
I used to buy only Kraft mayo, but they changed their recipe and lost the light lemon tang. My son was a big fan of Hellman’s so I tried it and switched. Then, Duke’s came into my kitchen…and the rest is history.
Miracle Whip is of the Devil.
Protip: after you finish the jar, the Duke’s lid fits perfectly on a canning jar. Great for storage.