I’m aware that some people see mayonnaise as the Devil’s jissom. No need for mayo hate in this thread.
On my first trip to New Orleans – must’ve been about 16 years ago – we drove by a building with a large lighted sign that said Blue Plate. I assumed it was a restaurant. Turns out it’s where they make Blue Plate mayonnaise. (Heh. Restaurant. ‘Yeah, I’d like a plate of mayo. And can you put some gravy on that?’) I’d never heard of it, nor have I ever seen it since. Never tried it. Someone told me that people tend to be very loyal to their mayonnaise, and some people wouldn’t have anything but Blue Plate.
When I was growing up we had Miracle Whip, and my family called it mayonnaise. It isn’t, but no need for MW-hate here either. It has its uses. As a teen, I decided I liked real mayonnaise better and have used Best Foods (known as Helman’s back East) ever since. It wasn’t until I learned of Blue Plate that I thought about brands. I’ve tried Trader Joe’s brand. Not as good. A little too tart. But not bad. I’ve probably tried one or two other brands in my time.
My girlfriend considers anything other than Duke’s anathema. I default to Miracle Whip, but will get Duke’s, Hellmann’s, or Kraft, whichever is cheapest.
I’ve tried homemade and it didn’t turn out for me, but I’m planning on trying again.
Hellman’s seems to be considered “the best” but honestly it’s not that special to me. While we had Blue Plate consistently when I was growing up in Atlanta, one grandmother was partial to Kraft, and to this day that’s what I prefer. It has that little bit of lemony tang that just makes my day.
Despite being a Southerner I’d only heard of Duke’s fairly recently and I know some people love it. I keep meaning to try it, but strangely it’s not that common 'round these parts.
I always considered mayonaise a necessary evil. You put it on your sandwich to avoid the dry sandwich syndrome. It makes things slide down easier, but it is not really a condiment or a desirable product.
Other than store brands, I never heard of any other except Hellman’s. Well, there’s Kraft, which is a really poor second. (And that pretty rectangular Kraft container of…something mayonnaise-y? made with olive oil? HORRIBLE HORRIBLE STUFF! AVOID!) There are a couple different types now, made with canola oil (not good), light (will do in a pinch), but only Hellman’s has “it”. A baloney sandwich needs mayonnaise. Shrimp salad needs mayo with a bit of lemon juice and/or dill. Potato salad needs mayo. (I won’t even mention MW except they run a mindbogglingly idiotic commercial for a goo that Walmart uses to mix up 50 gallon drums of cheap tasting macaroni salad.)
Best Foods/Hellmans for me for the consistency. Kraft is too. . .creamy. . .and reminds me of unpleasant substances. I wouldn’t eat anything made by Nalley if I was starving.