Commercial mayonnaise – likes, dislikes?

[Chris Hennes]

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.

Please. There is a substitute, it's called Hellman's. Completely reasonable for about 90% of my uses of mayo. And since my backyard has a disturbing lack of hens in it, I am forced to make even homemade mayonnaise from either store-bought or friend-provided eggs, but I gotta say it still tastes pretty good.

[Darienne]

I was raised on Miracle Whip and never tasted mayonnaise until I was married. But then I was also raised on Heinz Chili Sauce and never had ketchup either. My Mother hated cooking. Period. So did I until about 4 years ago.

Live with a Mayonnaise DH, but I'm not really enchanted with the entire Miracle Whip/mayonnaise thingy anyhow. Much prefer olive oil/lemon juice for dressings.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

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.

If you use one of these "French working jars" and a conical wisk, mayonnaise is stupid-easy.

[heidih]

I grew up in a household that did not use mayo as they were unfamiliar with it. Miracle Whip showed up for one or two recipes from a cooking class my mom took so I used that on my tomato sandwiches during my Harriet the Spy phase. I never really thought much about it until I started growing tomatoes and began to make tomato sandwiches my main meal during the season. I went through a phase with the Kraft Limon when it showed up on sale everywhere one summer. I think I liked the idea more than the product. My current mayo is Trader Joe's Organic not because I insist on organic but because I picked it up one day when I needed mayo, was at that store, and did not want to buy their regular which is a big jar. I liked it and have continued to buy it.

[Chris Hennes]

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.

If you use one of these "French working jars" and a conical wisk, mayonnaise is stupid-easy.

Ease isn't the only question: certainly, it's easy. But I have yet to come up with a way of making two tablespoons of mayo, so I wind up throwing away a good cup of the stuff every time I make it, because I just don't use that much. Except in the summer during tomato season, or when I go on a fried egg sandwich kick for a week, I just can't justify making the stuff, when Hellman's is almost as good.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

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.

If you use one of these "French working jars" and a conical wisk, mayonnaise is stupid-easy.

Ease isn't the only question: certainly, it's easy. But I have yet to come up with a way of making two tablespoons of mayo, so I wind up throwing away a good cup of the stuff every time I make it, because I just don't use that much. Except in the summer during tomato season, or when I go on a fried egg sandwich kick for a week, I just can't justify making the stuff, when Hellman's is almost as good.

I would guess that the yolk is the qualifying factor. So, yes, it's hard to divide a yolk. But it you are willing to toss the excess, you should be able to make a small quantity. You will need a whipping vessel with a wisk that is a loose fit. Maybe a Kraft cheese jar and a mini-wisk? I'll give it a go this weekend.

[Chris Hennes]

OK, I could throw away most of the yolk and most of the lemon, or I could throw away a cup of oil, or I could keep a bottle of Hellman's in the fridge. Making two tablespoons of mayo is impractical, even if I could find a way to whip that little.

[pyrguy]

Growing up in south Louisiana my favorite is 'Blue Plate'.

[ScoopKW]

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.

Please. There is a substitute, it's called Hellman's. Completely reasonable for about 90% of my uses of mayo. And since my backyard has a disturbing lack of hens in it, I am forced to make even homemade mayonnaise from either store-bought or friend-provided eggs, but I gotta say it still tastes pretty good.

OK, you're right. That came off as elitist. I should have said, "Considering how easy it is to make mayo, the only advantage to store-bought is it's stability." Incidentally, I don't have any chickens in my yard, either. The HOA would go nuts. But my mother in law has enough to provide free eggs for us. Major difference using a freshly-laid egg and good quality oil.

Mayonnaise was once called "the king of sauces." I can't think of any store-bought mayo I would describe as "king sauce."

EDIT -- Should have multi-quoted. I don't think Hellman's is "almost as good." I think it's like the difference between a lightning bug, and lightning. I would NEVER dip a french fry in store bought mayo, for instance. A cup of fresh mayo lasts a few days. I'll come up with an excuse to use it. Jerk chicken sandwiches on sourdough bread is my favorite vehicle for mayonnaise.

Edited May 26, 2012 by ScoopKW (log)

[lindag]

In the June 2012 issue of Cooks Illustrated is the result of their taste test of mayo. Their winner was Blue Plate (only available in the South and Southeast - I've never seen it or tried it). Their second choice was the previous winner, Best Foods/Hellman's.

[rotuts]

Hellman's in the east and BF in the west. I got my hands on some of the Duke's Famous, and I found it interesting. However, in further trials it has a predominate Soybean oil taste which i do no care for. Although Hellmans is soybean based, i dont taste the SB's. Perhaps its a different taste in DF than im not appreciating.

Home-made especially in a small processor is very very easy to make. But i use H for salads, sandwiches etc. I sometimes add a flavoring agent to it and it works out fine. If you like 'curry' and have access to the various Patak jared pastes, whisk some of that in for an interesting change. Also various Patak 'pickles'

If you live near a TJ's, try theirs. Its seriously 'eggy'

H and BF go on sale esp. now and it keeps for some time.

Edited May 26, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[gfweb]

Like Chris, I am a thrifty sod and can't happily make a cup of mayo when I need two tbsp. Hellman's is my usual and I will readily modify it with sriracha, chipotle, adobo, garlic, lime etc on an as needed basis. With modifications it approaches home-made.

[annabelle]

I use Hellman's for the stability. I don't need to poison anyone with homemade mayo if a dish is left out for more than an hour, say, at a picnic. Technically, store-bought mayonnaise doesn't need to be refrigerated even after opening, although I don't recommend this.

Homemade is obviously superior, but like Chris and gfweb, I am thrifty in a French housewife way and don't throw anything away if I can use it in something else. Mayonnaise has little utility other than dipping, binding sandwich fillings, and as a spread on sandwiches at my house.

[hsm]

Another Hellman's raised, Hellman's fan here. I have made my own using an emmersion blender. It's been awhile, but iirc, I put the ingredients into the beaker, lowered the blender to the bottom, turned it on and then very, very slowly raised it up. By the time it got to the top of the now-blended ingredients, I had mayo.

I don't do it regularly, only if I have either pasturized eggs or some from the farmer's market. (Can those be any different? )

[judiu]

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

Erm, ah, um, Homemade?

[gfweb]

I grew up in miracle whip house. It was a modern advance and, in some ill defined way, healthful.

I like it in devilled eggs ok and I can taste it in certain pot luck dishes. Now that I know what it is, I have tasted Durkees in stuff too.

[annabelle]

I like Miracle Whip in creamy coleslaw better than mayonnaise. Other than that, I don't care for it much but my husband loves it.

[Jaymes]

Well, I guess my point (if I have one and am not just ranting aimlessly, I mean ) is why not have several varieties of mayonnaise available for use in various applications and for various members of the family? What's wrong with that? Why the scorn and vehemence and insistence upon only one?

It's not like when you're twelve years old and your parents sit you down for the "important talk" and then they add, "While I'm telling you about condoms, I also am going to tell you the bitter truth about condiments. You have to choose. And once you choose, there's no deviating. You have to swear your allegiance to one or the other. Your mother and I have absolutely no doubt that this one is the best. Of course, we'll be disappointed if you choose another. But whichever you choose, you must be stalwart. Even admitting that the second-best brand might not be the sputum of the devil could put you on the slippery slope to, gasp, Miracle Whip."

Admittedly, we probably overdo the condiment variety in our home, but we have a big family, with lots of relatives and friends often stopping by. I just checked the fridge and we currently have: Hellman's, Hellman's Light, Duke's, Miracle Whip and Goya Mayonesa con Limón.

Plus some homemade to which I added a sprinkle of tarragon and which I am going to use to dress some fresh asparagus for Monday's meal.

Perhaps we are just not discriminating enough. But variety suits us fine.

Edited May 27, 2012 by Jaymes (log)

[annabelle]

Sounds suspiciously like my 'fridge.

[Pierogi]

Well, I guess my point (if I have one and am not just ranting aimlessly, I mean ) is why not have several varieties of mayonnaise available for use in various applications and for various members of the family? What's wrong with that? Why the scorn and vehemence and insistence upon only one?

It's not like when you're twelve years old and your parents sit you down for the "important talk" and then they add, "While I'm telling you about condoms, I also am going to tell you the bitter truth about condiments. You have to choose. And once you choose, there's no deviating. You have to swear your allegiance to one or the other. Your mother and I have absolutely no doubt that this one is the best. Of course, we'll be disappointed if you choose another. But whichever you choose, you must be stalwart. Even admitting that the second-best brand might not be the sputum of the devil could put you on the slippery slope to, gasp, Miracle Whip."

Admittedly, we probably overdo the condiment variety in our home, but we have a big family, with lots of relatives and friends often stopping by. I just checked the fridge and we currently have: Hellman's, Hellman's Light, Duke's, Miracle Whip and Goya Mayonesa con Limón.

Plus some homemade to which I added a sprinkle of tarragon and which I am going to use to dress some fresh asparagus for Monday's meal.

Perhaps we are just not discriminating enough. But variety suits us fine.

Choice and variety are all well and good, but so is personal taste. MY personal taste tells me Best Foods is what I prefer. My parents didn't force it down my throat (literally or figuratively), I came to the conclusion myself. Frankly, when I was a kid, Mom probably bought whatever was on sale. (But NEVER Miracle Whip). I've tried Kraft, I've tried TJ's brand, I've tried the store brands, and if Duke's/Blue Plate/Kewpie were available in my regular MegaMart haunts, I'd try them too. For now, I prefer Best Foods. My taste. If you come to my house, that's what you get in anything I use mayo in, unless I have a batch of homemade, in which case you score. If, however, YOU like Kraft, or Duke's or house brand or even Miracle Whip, good on ya. I won't try to proselytize and win you over to the Best Foods Side. If you serve me something made with your mayo-like dressing of choice, I will eat it and be grateful you felt enough affection for me to feed me. But in my own home, on my own food, I take Best Foods, and that's the way it is. Doesn't make me close-minded, just shows I know what I like.

ETA --- Of course, if I'm feeding you, and I know you are deathly allergic to Best Foods, or the thought of it makes you want to hurl, I'll plan something for dinner without mayo ! Or substitute something more to your tastes.....and send the remainder of the jar home with you .

Edited May 27, 2012 by Pierogi (log)

[rotuts]

I havent had MWhip in a long time. I wondered what's iin it, and found this:

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Kraft-Miracle-Whip-Recipe.html

this guy is fairly entertaining, and some of the deconstructed Rx are quite interesting.

[SylviaLovegren]

I havent had MWhip in a long time. I wondered what's iin it, and found this:

http://www.topsecret...hip-Recipe.html

this guy is fairly entertaining, and some of the deconstructed Rx are quite interesting.

I always thought that Miracle Whip was a commercial version of old-fashioned "Boiled Dressing" -- which was a way of making a mayonnaise type dressing by cooks who didn't have access to oil. It's basically a thick flour based sauce with butter and cream -- and plenty of sugar and vinegar. My mid-western and northwestern great-aunts all used it when I was a kid and it was a must for coleslaw. Mayonnaise was exotic for them since olive oil was rare as hen's teeth on farms in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Here's a recipe:

http://southernfood.about.com/cs/saladdressings/a/boileddressing.htm

[rotuts]

Olive oil in commercial Mayo is a relatively new thing.

[Lisa Shock]

I havent had MWhip in a long time. I wondered what's iin it, and found this:

http://www.topsecret...hip-Recipe.html

this guy is fairly entertaining, and some of the deconstructed Rx are quite interesting.

I always thought that Miracle Whip was a commercial version of old-fashioned "Boiled Dressing" -- which was a way of making a mayonnaise type dressing by cooks who didn't have access to oil. It's basically a thick flour based sauce with butter and cream -- and plenty of sugar and vinegar. My mid-western and northwestern great-aunts all used it when I was a kid and it was a must for coleslaw. Mayonnaise was exotic for them since olive oil was rare as hen's teeth on farms in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Here's a recipe:

http://southernfood....leddressing.htm

That's what I always thought. The first recipe linked is just a sweetened mayonnaise. The big clue is that MW has about 1/3 fewer calories than regular mayo and that recipe above would not have significantly fewer calories.The fake MW recipe I use is similar to this one, can't find the place where I got my version, uses boiling water as a significat ingredient and would give a lower calorie result: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-miracle-whip-41781

[Panosmex]

We have accustomed ourselves, here in Michoacán Mexico, to McCormick's Mayonesa Con Limón. Friends got us a half gallon of Snyder's from Costco or Sam's Club, and while it was o.k., I was glad when we finally finished it. Similarly, a 1/2 gallon of Best Mayo was just too thick and rich. We are back to McCormick's, which suits us just fine.

Although I've made my own mayo in the past, I just can't be bothered with it now and even more important, I don't want to run the risk of food poisoning. Mayonnaise is one of the least interesting condiments I can think of, and to me, not worth spending much energy on.