# Mayonnaise **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481 "2009-10-03T20:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/41 "2009-10-04T16:08:01Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Duke’s is the only permissible mayo in the South. I have made my own and it was indeed very good, but it wasn’t “mayo” to me, you know? (I also use Miracle Whip but don’t consider it “mayo”.) I’ve lived all but a couple years in Alabama and Tennessee, and though I think I’ve seen Duke’s on the shelves of stores, I’ve never seen it in anyone’s fridge or table, and have never knowingly tasted it. I prefer Hellmann’s, and like lissener, I could eat it with a spoon, though I never have. That said, I’ve actually been known to eat bread with Hellmann’s spread it on it like others would spread better on a roll. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/42 "2009-10-04T16:25:17Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron;11627058have never knowingly tasted it…I prefer Hellmann’s [/QUOTE] Now wait a minute…You prefer Hellman’s to a brand you have not tasted? That is not logical. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/43 "2009-10-04T16:37:39Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I think if you mix mayo and mustard, you get Miracle Whip? No, you take mayo and mix in “tangy zip.” I also grew up with MW called Mayo. It wasn’t until I started cooking and some recipes came out really bad that I realized there was a difference. Mom even used to serve the salad of iceberg letuce with a spoonful of MW then a shake of Paprika as a special salad. Still though any sandwich I make usually has some MW smeared on it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/44 "2009-10-04T16:40:30Z")
Homemade and plain (olive oil, egg, salt), but of course you can’t get that in restaurants any more. For some reason, the prohibition doesn’t seem to extend to homemade alliolli (olive oil, egg, salt, garlic), or the chefs just systematically suffer from memory loss when it comes to it. Knowing Spanish lawmakers, it’s possible that they forbade the use of raw eggs in mayo and only in mayo. Mom buys Ligeresa or Hellman’s Light (both are low-cal). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/45 "2009-10-04T16:47:07Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I’ve actually been known to eat bread with Hellmann’s spread it on it like others would spread better on a roll. Mmm, mayo sandwich, all the time. Sometimes I add lettuce for crunch, but the mayo’s the heart of the sandwich. Also good on crusty bread: simple sliced tomatoes and good mayo. Homemade is something special, if you’ve made it with olive oil and garlic or something, but Hellman’s will work too. Little fresh ground pepper and it’s one of life’s simple joys. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/46 "2009-10-04T17:01:56Z")
To anyone who hasn’t tried, please pull out your blender and try making homemade. Let the first couple batches fail; you need to get a bit of a feel for it. Once you do, it’s like learning to drive stick: it seems insurmountably difficult at first, but then suddenly it’s like you’ve been doing it all your life and you couldn’t imagine doing it any other way. Then you can experiment with different flavors, and stop thinking of mayonnaise as _mayonnaise_, and think of it as just another saucemaking technique. Try it with a good olive oil. It will be too strongly flavored to even think of it as mayonnaise; instead it’s a dipping sauce for vegetables, or to toss croutons in. Use hazelnut oil and serve it with figs. Grate in some wasabi and slather it on salmon. Add a little black sesame oil and chinese five-spice and toss it with some shredded cabbage and water chestnuts for a very elegant Asian slaw. Fold in some curry powder and use it to make the awesomest sandwich in the world, I kid you not: curry mayonnaise, chicken breast, and apricot jam. You will never want to eat anything else. Mayonnaise is one of the easiest to make, most versatile, and most elegant of French sauces. (Think of it as a compatriot of Holland_aise_ and Bern_aise_ sauces, not of boloney and Wonder bread.) Every time I see a new oil I think of its mayonnaise possibilities. Next experiment: I’ve been eyeing some almond oil and thinking about cherries . . . maybe some kind of cold duck concoction? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/47 "2009-10-04T17:04:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Now wait a minute…You prefer Hellman’s to a brand you have not tasted? That is not logical. 🙂 Different paragraph. I was saying Hellmann’s is my mayonnaise of choice. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/48 "2009-10-04T17:21:50Z")
Homemade first, but Hellmann’s is OK. Here in the UK we get Heinz’s, which is better than Hellmann’s. Do you get Heinz’s mayonnaise in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/49 "2009-10-04T17:24:43Z")
Just got back from the market. Best Foods, Kraft, Nally’s, store brand (Golden Farms? Something like that.), and a couple kinds of ‘gourmet’ mayonnaise. Not much variety. > [@lissener](#): > > To anyone who hasn’t tried, please pull out your blender and try making homemade. I don’t know where my blender is. Also, don’t you have to use homemade mayonnaise fairly quickly? I might make a sandwich, and then it will be weeks before I need mayo again. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/50 "2009-10-04T17:33:00Z")
Again, if all you’re using it for is sandwiches you’re missing out. Plus when you make it homemade you determine the quantities. Plus give it away. Plus, hello, one egg and a little oil: if you throw it away what is it costing you? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/51 "2009-10-04T17:42:28Z")
My wife stocks Hellman’s, Kraft and Miracle Whip. In nine years of marriage, I have not been able to figure out the occult criteria by which she decides which gets used for what. But I have had to run to the store when she was out of one of the three, so I gather that she does not consider them interchangeable at all. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/52 "2009-10-04T17:43:19Z")
You realize your wife is having an affair, right? ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/53 "2009-10-04T18:09:55Z")
I was always a Hellman’s/Best Foods fan until I moved to the South and tried Blue Plate. I like Blue Plate, and I like Blue Plate’s price especially. I tried Duke’s and was not impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/54 "2009-10-04T18:14:11Z")
A few people have said they like Blue Plate. I’ll never find it up here, but since I drove by a factory I’m curious as to what makes Blue Plate superior to Best Foods/Hellmann’s. ---
**Author:** ![Jammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@Jammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammer)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/55 "2009-10-04T18:17:11Z")
Gotta be Duke’s. It really is the secret of great southern cooks. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/56 "2009-10-04T18:26:07Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > You realize your wife is having an affair, right? She must like quickies, because the store is pretty close to our house. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/57 "2009-10-04T18:30:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > A few people have said they like Blue Plate. I’ll never find it up here, but since I drove by a factory I’m curious as to what makes Blue Plate superior to Best Foods/Hellmann’s. I looked at all the ingredients for the top mayos, none of them were outrageously different from each other. As I recall, the same ubiquitous soybean oil resides in each. To me BP has a nice tangy flavor. But frankly, when Hellman’s began retailing for $4.59 or even higher, that was when I began sniffing around for other mayos. I do have some brand loyalty for some foods, but for mayo, it just has to be ‘real’ rather than Lite. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/58 "2009-10-04T19:38:28Z")
America’s Test Kitchen did one of their tasting panels on mayo. They were not in the least surprised that Hellmann’s was number one with Kraft a close second. All others barely got any votes. They concluded that mayo is all about what you’re used to, and is not something people can judge completely objectively. Most everyone just likes what their mother served them as children. I am a man of rough tastes, with little delicacy. I use whatever’s on sale the day I go looking for some. I don’t think I could tell the difference between mayos in a taste test. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/59 "2009-10-04T20:59:04Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Homemade first, but Hellmann’s is OK. Here in the UK we get Heinz’s, which is better than Hellmann’s. Do you get Heinz’s mayonnaise in the US? I’ve seen it on the British Food shelf in the International Foods section of grocery stores alongside Heinz baked beans and something called Brown Sauce! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481/60 "2009-10-04T21:07:04Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Different paragraph. I was saying Hellmann’s is my mayonnaise of choice. Ah, thanks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise/512481.md?page=4)