Commercial mayonnaise – likes, dislikes?

[JAZ]

In this topic on sweet potato salad, Jaymes said (about mayonnaise):

Regardless, in the US south, most good cooks that I know use Duke's anyway. If you live in a region where it's sold, and you haven't tried it, you should.

I have to disagree: while some cooks here in Atlanta use it, most that I know prefer Hellman's. I certainly do. Duke's is oddly sweet -- halfway to Miracle Whip, in my opinion -- and I can pick it out immediately in things like tuna or potato salad when it's used. If I were faced with the choice of Duke's or nothing on a sandwich, I think I'd have to choose the latter.

Am I missing something? Do people really like Duke's? Are there other brands worth trying?

[Chris Hennes]

Another vote for Hellman's here.

[Joe Blowe]

I'm a fourth generation Best Foods/Hellman's customer, and still believe it's the gold standard. I find Miracle Whip to be absolutely repugnant. Duke's sounds like repugnant-lite

For the past year, I've been buying Kirkland mayo -- word on the street is that it's probably made by Bestfoods Corp., and I must confess it's pretty hard to tell the difference.

If it's a holiday occasion I wouldn't dare put out Kirkland mayo; the family has enough ammo on me already...

[Jaymes]

In this topic on sweet potato salad, Jaymes said (about mayonnaise):

Regardless, in the US south, most good cooks that I know use Duke's anyway. If you live in a region where it's sold, and you haven't tried it, you should.

I have to disagree: while some cooks here in Atlanta use it, most that I know prefer Hellman's. I certainly do. Duke's is oddly sweet -- halfway to Miracle Whip, in my opinion -- and I can pick it out immediately in things like tuna or potato salad when it's used. If I were faced with the choice of Duke's or nothing on a sandwich, I think I'd have to choose the latter.

Am I missing something? Do people really like Duke's? Are there other brands worth trying?

Well, you can say that you don't like Duke's, don't use it, and don't know anyone that does (although if you're "picking it out...in tuna or potato salad," someone that you know must be using it).

But regardless as to whether or not you like it, I don't think you can "disagree" with MY statement, which was, that "in the US south, most good cooks that I know use Duke's."

Which is a statement of fact.

Utterly indisputable.

Unless you and I know all the exact same people.

I don't know how deep your southern roots go (maybe you just have Yankee taste buds ), but I come from a long line of good southern cooks, including my grandmother, who was a legendary southern cook, and who owned a locally-famous home-cooking restaurant, and my sister, who has lived in Atlanta for some four decades. I have friends and relatives all over the south, and I myself have lived in various locations throughout the south for many years.

I didn't say that absolutely everybody in the south prefers Duke's. That would be silly. Of course, there are always going to be personal likes and dislikes.

But I will repeat what I did say: "In the US south, most good cooks that I know use Duke's anyway."

And they do.

_______

Edited May 24, 2012 by Jaymes (log)

[munchymom]

I'm not a big mayo consumer, but when I use mayo, it's Duke's. I don't find it too sweet at all. (This does not apply to the "lite" version, which contains sugar and is way too sweet. Bad mistake buying that one.)

[Kim Shook]

Dukes here. But I'm not all that discerning - I'm quite sure that I couldn't pick out a particular brand in a blind taste test. I like Miracle Whip, too - with certain things.

[tikidoc]

Hellman's here, when I don't make my own. I also find Duke's too sweet. I consider Miracle Whip to be inedible, for the same reason, x10. I live in the south, and have since 1994, but I'm not from the south.

Jess

[Margaret Pilgrim]

It's all about what you call store-bought mayonnaise. For me, it's Best Foods/Hellsmans. Kraft et al don't make it. Anything sweet is wrong to my taste.

I need to buy a jar of Kewpie, which is preferred by many cooks and self-proclaimed foodies. Made in Japan. i wonder if these same people realize it contains MSG.

[chezcherie]

best foods. the best best foods, in my opinion, is a variety found at latin markets, with an orange top. made with lime juice. (i know--the orange top is confusing. but they chose green for the olive oil variety.) i buy the biggest canisters they have, and i buy 3 at a time. i don't use a lot of mayonnaise, but it's always that slightly tangy, bright-flavored lime best foods when i do.

http://www.bestfoods.com/product/detail/96415/mayonnaise-with-lime

[Shel_B]

best foods ... a variety found at latin markets, with an orange top. made with lime juice.

http://www.bestfoods...naise-with-lime

Oooo, that sounds very interesting. Will have to give it a try.

Ilike TJ's regular, plain ol' mayo ... it's got anice, eggy taste that goes very well with the things I use mayo for. And the price is right.

[Lisa Shock]

I grew up in a household of mayo-haters. Sandwiches got mustard and maybe horseradish on them.

Once I discovered Miracle Whip, I loved it. I found regular mayo to be rather flavorless -and still do.

I started making my own at home and haven't really looked back. I usually have a jar of dill lime and a jar of ginger sesame in the fridge at all times. Other flavors come and go based on dishes I am making. If I eat out I won't go out of my way to ask for mayo, but I won't reject it either.

Along the road of discovering mayonnaise flavors, I found an imitation miracle whip recipe online. While it doesn't taste exactly like the real thing, when I did my initial taste-test with friends, everyone noticed that after tasting the from-scratch stuff, the brand-name stuff in the jar tasted very mettalic and chemical. So, I make that recipe too, on occasion.

Never had Duke's, to my knowledge, so, no opinion on that.

For commercial food prep, Hellman's is really consistently best. It behaves itself nicely and is always the same, jar after jar, tub after tub. Once tried a Sysco product labelled 'heavy duty' -it was oddly super-thick and sticky.

[judiu]

best foods. the best best foods, in my opinion, is a variety found at latin markets, with an orange top. made with lime juice. (i know--the orange top is confusing. but they chose green for the olive oil variety.) i buy the biggest canisters they have, and i buy 3 at a time. i don't use a lot of mayonnaise, but it's always that slightly tangy, bright-flavored lime best foods when i do.

http://www.bestfoods...naise-with-lime

AHA! I have used Hellman's all my life, along with sour cream in most salads like potato and maccaroni (actually, the s.c. is my secret weapon in same... ), but I had tried, and liked Kraft Limon (with lime juice), but now I HAVE to try this Helman's! I live in south Florida so bodegas are pretty easy to find. Have to check it out!

[Pierogi]

Best Foods and Best Foods only. The original, although the one with lime sounds interesting. The Best Foods with olive oil is gross. The TJs mayo is one of the few Trader Joe private-labeled products I *don't* love. We don't have Duke's out here, so I've never tried it. I, too, would like to lay my hands on some Kewpie just to experience it. But me and Best Foods, we go way back. I've been known to just stick a spoon in the jar, and well, never mind......

But my homemade is much, much, MUCH better.

[Marya]

Since I use so very little mayonnaise, homemade and Kewpie are my choices; the former for the obligatory salads for barbecue, and the latter because it is utterly unique, and delicious. Yes, it does have a little MSG (see link), but it also has a more pronounced mustard-egg yolk flavor. And I have to admit, the plastic container is pretty cool to the touch.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/dining/05glute.html?pagewanted=all

Edited to add link

Edited May 25, 2012 by Marya (log)

[Meanderer]

There must be some good cooks in the south who use Mrs. Filbert's mayonaise. After all, the jar says it is "made with southern pride."

[SylviaLovegren]

My experience with southern cooks is that they also put chopped sweet pickle (one Georgia woman I know called them "salad chunks") in mayo-based salads, so God knows what they use for mayo.

[Shel_B]

Best Foods and Best Foods only [...] The TJs mayo is one of the few Trader Joe private-labeled products I *don't* love. [...] But my homemade is much, much, MUCH better.

Last night I did a taste test of the Best Foods and the TJ's mayo. I found the Best Foods to be rather bland and "greasy" tasting compared to what I'd describe as TJ's "lively" and fresher taste.

However, the Best Foods came in a small, plastic squeeze container, and I've heard some people mention that it doesn't taste quite the same as that which comes in the glass jar. Any comments from Best Foods/Hellman's folks about that?

A friend of mine preferred Kraft mayo ... any Kraft fans here? What do you like about it?

I agree about home made ...

Edited May 25, 2012 by Shel_B (log)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I'm almost reluctant to weigh in, given where I'm situated....

My favourite commercial mayo is called Alacena, and it's a lime with a hint of mustard and spices concoction, but nowhere near as strong as Duke's. After that comes Gustadina, which is lemon with no spices and is similar to the Hellman's sold in Canada. Both are tangy.

ETA - I'll also say that I can't find any mayo of any sort in glass jars. They come in recyclable skuisi packs, which are infinitely conveniente and don't seem to affect flavour in any discernable manner.

Miracle Whip and Kraft Mayo are wrongness in a jar. Period. Same goes for any other sweet sandwich sauce trying to pass itself off as mayo.

And hands down, of course, is home-made.

Edited May 25, 2012 by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

[Shel_B]

"The Great Mayonnaise Taste Test" ...

http://blogs.ajc.com...ise-taste-test/

Edited May 25, 2012 by Shel_B (log)

[Crouton]

I was born and raised in Tennessee and now residing in Alabama and I didn't know Duke's existed until I saw a write-up for it in Garden & Gun magazine as being a "southern staple"... I just assumed it was a Carolina micro-regional Southern thing, hence why I had never heard of it. In my house, we always have 2 large Costco jars of Hellmann's. Anything else and I'll pass...

[Charcuterer]

At my house it is either Dukes or Hellman's depending on which is cheaper. I love dukes in cole slaw and deviled eggs but for a sandwich I prefer Hellman's.

[JAZ]

Last night I did a taste test of the Best Foods and the TJ's mayo. I found the Best Foods to be rather bland and "greasy" tasting compared to what I'd describe as TJ's "lively" and fresher taste.

However, the Best Foods came in a small, plastic squeeze container, and I've heard some people mention that it doesn't taste quite the same as that which comes in the glass jar. Any comments from Best Foods/Hellman's folks about that?

A friend of mine preferred Kraft mayo ... any Kraft fans here? What do you like about it?

The Hellman's/Best Foods in the squeeze bottle is definitely different, at least in texture; it's smoother and a little thinner. I much prefer the Hellman's jar to the squeeze bottle for that reason. I've never tasted them side by side, so I'm not sure how they compare on that front.

Kraft, as I recall, has the same eerily smooth texture as Hellman's in the squeeze bottle. I'm not a fan, but I still prefer it to Duke's.

[Toliver]

Miracle Whip is not mayo and has never pretended to be mayo. I think because it's white and spreadable, hence mayo-like, people assume it's mayo...but it's not.

That being said, my family had only Miracle Whip when I was growing up and I didn't discover mayo until I was an adult. I like both, which may be heresy to some. My mom's potato salad and deviled eggs wouldn't taste the same without using Mircale Whip in them.

Mayo has always been Best Foods brand for me because I'm west of the Mississippi. It's not big on flavor but I think adds a nice subtle umami note to sandwiches and such.

[ScoopKW]

I have tried every mayo listed on this thread with the exception of Alacena. I have even tried McCormick's Mayonesa, which is very popular with Las Vegas Mexican-Americans. There is simply no substitute for eggs collected from your hens in the back yard, and oil selected for the mayo task at hand -- I use olive oil for aioli and canola for more "traditional" mayo applications.

If we lived in a world without blenders, I could see the store-bought thing. But this is just too easy to make at home.

[MelissaH]

I think the best mayo or mayo-like substance is the one you grew up with. In my house, it's Hellmann's and Hellmann's only, for forever. (My husband differs, but I think he's starting to come around, finally.)

I'll give you three guesses what the H in my name stands for!

MelissaH