Commercial mayonnaise – likes, dislikes?

[suzilightning]

Grew up with Miracle Whip - though how a girl from the east end of Long Island did we will never know.  About 3 years ago my sil made some macaroni salad - cooked macaroni and Cain's mayonnaise - for a picnic(hey never said she could cook - she was never allowed to growing up).  Well the taste blew me away.  More vinegary and citrusy than Hellaman's that, when I had tasted it, just felt like fat coating my mouth.

 

Unfortunately Cain's is not available in my part of the area - I have to get up to at least the mid to upper Hudson Valley of New York to be able to buy it.

[Jaymes]

Jaymes,

I am not much of a mayo fan but your father's use of it as a vehicle for testing new flavors appears to me to be quite brilliant.

 

Well, I do need to warn you that, like all experiments, some were more successful than others. 

[Anna N]

Well, I do need to warn you that, like all experiments, some were more successful than others.

Of course. Nevertheless I think he was ahead of his time. I was in a store this week where they had a shelf displaying mis-named (as far as I am concerned!) aiolis. Sriracha aioli, wasabi aioli, etc., etc. There were quite a number of them.

[rotuts]

as I know, Im a big fan of the ---aise family.

 

Ive taken various dried Penzey's mixtures, added a tiny bit of water to say a Tbs to hydrate the dried herbs and deal with the salt

 

then added that to mostly mayonnaise for various veg.  I would have added to hollandaise and béarnaise but they didn't come in convenient jars.

 

but Ive done that w the CSB egg yolks ( mentioned in the fantastic CSB thread ) and all sorts of ---aise result

 

Sauer's  Prime Rib and Roast Seasoning

 

http://shop.cfsauer.com/products.asp?id=24

 

and Penzey's  ( original ) Chicago Steak Seasoning

 

https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/chicago-steak-seasoning/c-24/p-658/pd-s

 

 beet out the original béarnaise by several miles

 

as im not a big fan of tarragon.  it works in béarnaise because, as we know, the Egg Yolk is the Great Masquerader.

 

Penzey's has a Bavarian Seasoning  ( Slat Free ! ) ,

 

https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/bavarian-style-seasoning/c-24/p-19/pd-s

 

when mixed and hydrated w a little Mayo is fantastic on fresh steamed green beans !

 

Come on, steamed green beans ?  you eat 'em 'cause you got'em.  more or less.

 

not so w BavarianMayo.  just saying.

 

etc  etc.

 

if you are a Student of the ---aise family  give this a try.

Edited August 28, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[pyrguy]

In Louisiana and on the east coast I preferred Blue Plate mayonnaise. Ive heen in AZ for foour years and don't know if the receipe has changed like most other things.

[Ashen]

Hellman's was my gold standard for many years for storebought, but now I would give  PC ( Presidents Choice) brand a slight edge.  My wife on the other hand doesn't really find any difference between most brands and buys whatever is on sale or the costco Kirkland brand .

[ElsieD]

Hellman's was my gold standard for many years for storebought, but now I would give  PC ( Presidents Choice) brand a slight edge.  My wife on the other hand doesn't really find any difference between most brands and buys whatever is on sale or the costco Kirkland brand .

I'm curious - what is it about the PC brand that you prefer? I haven't tried it although I really like most of their products.

[Ashen]

I can't really think of the exact right words to describe the difference but brighter or fresher  somewhat fit the bill. 

[ElsieD]

I can't really think of the exact right words to describe the difference but brighter or fresher  somewhat fit the bill.

Thanks. I'll try it when I finish the current bottle.

[Nicolas Escudero Heiberg]

I have to put in a good word for Kewpie. In Europe I've only been able to find Hellman's of the brands you've mentioned so far. I grew up with it and absolutely love it. However, Kewpie blew my mind. Not sure if it was the msg, but its taste was fuller and rounder than anything I've tried before... I don't remember where I found it and am dreading for the bottle to end!

[huiray]

Hellmann's changed the formula for their mayo back in the mid 2000's, I think it was – so the memory of it from childhood versus what it tastes like more recently may not match.  See here for one web post relating to this...

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Regarding Kewpie mayo:

• The stuff made in Japan (like the squeeze bottle I have of it) does not list sugar as an ingredient, and the company's website also does not list it.

• The  company website and the label on my bottle lists the vinegar as "醸造酢" which really just means brewed or fermented vinegar, plus a parenthesized note that as I understand it means "including apple". As others have pointed out here (and from other websites), it uses rice vinegar (and/or apple vinegar).

• Only egg yolks are used in Kewpie, rather than the whole eggs used in all the others.

• The other stuff in it includes MSG (necessary for it to taste like Kewpie mayo :-)) but may also include dashi, if one goes by the "recreation attempt" in the article linked to below.

• No water is said to be added to it – implying that the other mayos have some added water?

 

Some articles relating to Kewpie mayo:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/10/sauced-japanese-style-kewpie-mayonnaise-recipe.html  (this one makes "Japanese style (Kewpie)" mayo; a mixture of rice + malt vinegars are used, plus MSG plus hon-dashi as well as using "Japanese mustard")

http://www.grubstreet.com/2012/02/kewpie-japanese-mayonnaise-cooking-dynamite-mussels-recipe.html

http://pogogi.com/story-behind-kewpie-and-its-ingredients-mayonnaise

http://pogogi.com/what-is-japanese-mayonnaise-and-how-is-it-different-from-american-mayo

http://justbento.com/forum/kewpie-mayonnaise#comment-5756

 

BTW Kewpie mayo is what is needed for okonomiyaki, not a Western/American style mayo.  :-) 

 

[Smithy]

This topic inspired me to try Duke's Mayonnaise last fall when I found it in a Texas grocery store.  I liked it.  I used it up. I think I did a side-by-side taste test of Duke's vs. Hellman's, my usual, but I can't swear to it. Nonetheless when we got home I began to check the Duluth grocery stores for Duke's.  I never found Dukes, but sometime this summer, this product began to appear in our grocery stores: 

 

 

Piknik Real Mayonnaise.  Southern style, it says. Duke's is a southern style mayonnaise, and I liked it. I overrode my contempt for cutesy misspellings and bought a jar.  I like it.  It may replace Hellman's in our household, although I haven't yet done a side-by-side comparison.

 

My question is, what makes Piknik mayonnaise a Southern style mayonnaise?  The label implies that its lack of sugar is the qualifier.  Is that true? The label says it's made in Alabama, so technically it's a Southern mayonnaise regardless of its style.

 

Piknik lists its ingredients as: "vegetable oil (soy and/or canola), water, eggs, distilled vinegar and cider vinegar, salt, paprika, natural flavor, calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor."

[rotuts]

@Smithy

 

very interesting

 

look at the portion of the label that gives amounts in grams

 

and then look at that same bit on Hellmans

 

love to see the differences

 

BTW

 

TJ's used to have a TJ's Mayo

 

maybe they still do

 

Ill pic one up if I remember.

 

it was outstanding in the sense that it had a Lot of Egg flavor.

 

and thus very rich.

[heidih]

I said it way up thread but will repeat. If you are not making your own I love Trader Joe's Organiic. Not because it is organic, but for taste and strong eggy note- not just a filller item. 

[Smithy]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

@Smithy

 

very interesting

 

look at the portion of the label that gives amounts in grams

 

and then look at that same bit on Hellmans

 

love to see the differences

 

 

Hellmans:

 

Piknik:

 

The Piknik has proportionately less egg than the Hellman's and has no sugar.  The fat, oil and vinegars are different.  Eventually I'll get around to a side-by-side taste test.

 

My real question is: what makes Piknik a Southern-style mayonnaise?

[Thanks for the Crepes]

7 hours ago, Smithy said:

My real question is: what makes Piknik a Southern-style mayonnaise?

 

No sugar is my vote. And the ingredients on your Piknik brand are pretty close to the jar of Duke's I just pulled out of my fridge to compare.

 

Duke's ingredients:

Soybean oil, eggs, water, distilled and cider vinegar, salt, oleoresin paprika, natural flavors? , calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor.

 

My jar lists The C.F. Saurer Co., Richmond VA, but this wiki article says it originates in Mrs. Eugenia Duke's sandwich shop in Greenville, SC in 1917.

 

I love it, and it is as good as homemade. My only gripe with it is that it's hard to find it around here in less than a quart jar so I can't use it before it goes off. I did manage to buy a 16 oz. jar last time, so I have a better chance of getting use out of it. It was only 25 cents cheaper than the jar twice the size. *Sigh*

 

@Kim Shook may have some thoughts as well on what constitutes a Southern mayo, and I'm pretty sure she is a Duke's fan.

 

Remember ya'll Julia Child never told any of us to put sugar into mayonnaise!   She was a very wise woman, in my worldview. 

 

[CantCookStillTry]

Excuse the rumpled dress but my Hellman's seems to be the tiniest weeniest bit different to yours, with the mustard and paprika bit - perhaps they are identical but your label gets to use the more secretive 'natural flavors' ?

 

Edited October 12, 2017 by CantCookStillTry (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

1 hour ago, CantCookStillTry said:

Excuse the rumpled dress but my Hellman's seems to be the tiniest weeniest bit different to yours, with the mustard and paprika bit - perhaps they are identical but your label gets to use the more secretive 'natural flavors' 

 

 

Full disclosure is always really good in my book, but Antioxidant (385)? WTH is that supposed to be? Possibly calcium disodium EDTA? Gotta love our various government's avoidance of truth, or NOT. Sheesh!

[blue_dolphin]

57 minutes ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

Full disclosure is always really good in my book, but Antioxidant (385)? WTH is that supposed to be? Possibly calcium disodium EDTA? Gotta love our various government's avoidance of truth, or NOT. Sheesh!

 

I don't think it's avoidance of truth but more a love for abbreviations and acronyms , and not just by our government in the US - this is a European-based naming convention.

 

International Numbering System for Food Additives 

Quote

The International Numbering System for Food Additives (INS) is a European-based naming system for food additives, aimed at providing a short designation of what may be a lengthy actual name. It is defined by Codex Alimentarius, the international food standards organisation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). The information is published in the document Class Names and the International Numbering System for Food Additives, first published in 1989, with revisions in 2008 and 2011. The INS is an open list, "subject to the inclusion of additional additives or removal of existing ones on an ongoing basis"

 

And yes, 385 is indeed calcium disodium EDTA, itself an abbreviation for ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

[brucesw]

I came across Piknik a few years back in a little store on the south side in a neighborhood where there were several businesses run by refugees from Katrina who stayed on here in Houston.  I seem to remember something claiming it was a favorite in New Orleans, but that may have been for one of the other products I'd never seen here before.  I remember being surprised it was made in Alabama.  They had Cheewees and Louisiana style hot sausage and some other products, a lunch counter with po'boys and fried chicken (neither very impressive). I'm perilously low on  Duke's and I think I'm up to try a new product.  I'll try to get back over there.

[Martin Fisher]

Hellmann's has changed in recent years. Lots of old fans bitch about it.

I wish I could find a good prepared mayo without, sugar, soybean or canola oil.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Since amazon is now selling Whole Foods 365 brand...has anyone tried 365 Organic Mayonnaise?

 

[Kim Shook]

On 10/12/2017 at 5:33 AM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

No sugar is my vote. And the ingredients on your Piknik brand are pretty close to the jar of Duke's I just pulled out of my fridge to compare.

 

Duke's ingredients:

Soybean oil, eggs, water, distilled and cider vinegar, salt, oleoresin paprika, natural flavors? , calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor.

 

My jar lists The C.F. Saurer Co., Richmond VA, but this wiki article says it originates in Mrs. Eugenia Duke's sandwich shop in Greenville, SC in 1917.

 

I love it, and it is as good as homemade. My only gripe with it is that it's hard to find it around here in less than a quart jar so I can't use it before it goes off. I did manage to buy a 16 oz. jar last time, so I have a better chance of getting use out of it. It was only 25 cents cheaper than the jar twice the size. *Sigh*

 

@Kim Shook may have some thoughts as well on what constitutes a Southern mayo, and I'm pretty sure she is a Duke's fan.

 

Remember ya'll Julia Child never told any of us to put sugar into mayonnaise!   She was a very wise woman, in my worldview. 

 

Yep, I'm a Duke's girl.  May be habit as much as anything - it was what my grandmother always used.  I actually grew up on Miracle Whip and there are still some recipes that I use it in.  But I don't care for the sweetness of it with most stuff.  I love homemade mayo, but use so little of it and hate to throw it away.  I'll make my own when I know I'll be using a lot.

[Katie Meadow]

My whole life I've been using Hellman's or, on the west coast, Best Foods. I tried Duke's recently and admit it's very good. The overall taste is a bit sharper and saltier and it is a little less stiff, but I like it. Surprisingly when I checked the sodium levels Duke's has a bit less. So with Hellmans/Best Foods, you are getting added sugar and more salt to up the flavor. 

 

I'm not too keen on soybean oil or canola oil, but it seems you can't get commercial mayo without it. Using better quality oil would mean raising the prices, and Americans guzzle up so much mayo that would be a deal breaker. Am I too lazy to make my own? Yep.