Favorite Uses for Mayonnaise

[NulloModo]

ah, bleachboy, someone after my own heart.

Really, no other condiment has the same fatty richness as mayo. I am going to have to find some ways to use it in other dishes as well. It would seem a natural for casseroles, but seems to take on an odd texture when baked...

EDIT:

But really, what beats that first bite into a way too big rare hamburger? The beef juices/blood, mayo, melted cheese, tomato juices, mustard, mayo,, horseradish, etc, all running down your chin ? Ahhh, I'm in heaven at that moment.

Edited February 16, 2005 by NulloModo (log)

[foodobsessed]

Hellmans definately. I've made my own and it's not the same.

And I can't believe all of you Miracle Whip snobs! For me there is no substitute for Miracle Whip on a Jersey tomato sandwich laden with salt and MW on white bread in the dead of summer. It's king!

Other wierd ways I like mayo....bacon dipped in it (gross sounding, I know...but yummy), fries dipped in it........gosh, you'd never know that I'm not overweight!!

[NulloModo]

Hellmans definately.  I've made my own and it's not the same.

And I can't believe all of you Miracle Whip snobs!  For me there is no substitute for Miracle Whip on a Jersey tomato sandwich laden with salt and MW on white bread in the dead of summer.  It's king!

Other wierd ways I like mayo....bacon dipped in it (gross sounding, I know...but yummy), fries dipped in it........gosh, you'd never know that I'm not overweight!!

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Bacon and mayo is a match made in heaven! Crispy fried fat with emulsified salty fat... just yum ;) Hehe, hey, my love for mayo is a major reason I chose LC for a method of weight-loss!

[petite tête de chou]

I like Best Foods mayo on/in the usual, I suppose. Burgers, sandwiches, tuna, etc. I do NOT like mayo with artichokes, asparagus or as a dip for seafood. Butter all the way as a dip for my shellfish and crustacean friends.

My Godfather used to liken mayo to bird doodie. He really hated the stuff! I can see why he gagged over it..but a tomato and mayo sandwich on Pearl Bakery sourdough is damn fine.

[slbunge]

So, how long does homemade mayo last?

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Making your mayonnaise? Make sure to keep it refrigerated at all times since it has no preservatives. Make only what you are going to use... lasts a few days ...

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I seem to remember a Good Eats episode about mayo from back when we basked in the glow of the Food Network. Alton was fairly specific about leaving the mayo out for a period of time after whipping and before refrigerating for long-term storage. Perhaps a few hours. I wish I could remember why. Anyone have the episode on tape or DVD?

[SethG]

Hellman's certainly is the best of the prepared brands and we always have a jar in the house. I'll use it all the time just to smear something on bread with some sliced turkey.

BUT.

I love real mayo, and if it's a major ingredient in anything I'm making, I like to make it myself. There's nothing like a potent aioli. And there's nothing like a batch of fresh mayo to mix with some freshly poached, still barely warm chicken.

The taste and the texture of the store-bought stuff will never compare, I don't care what anyone says.

I like to make the oil in mine about half olive, half whatever else is handy, unless of course we're talking about aioli, in which case it's 100% olive oil and more garlic than you'd think possible.

I find there's something peaceful about adding that oil, drop by drop, even though you're whisking away like mad. It's reassuring... a magical alchemy that fosters the illusion that entropy can be held at bay, at least temporarily.

I don't put mayo on burgers but on fries? You bet.

And by the way, if you make it yourself you're unlikely to have much left over, but Jack Lang (mayo is the second of the sauces covered in the linked course) says it'll keep at room temperature. It's an acidic environment in which that bad stuff has a hard time living.

[purplewiz]

Add me to the Hellman's/Best Foods camp. (We're on the border between the territories, our grocery stores carry both. I buy whichever I have a coupon for.)

I've made mayo myself, when I ran out of the Hellman's, and while I loved the texture, the flavor just wasn't there for me. If I were doing a flavored mayo, I'd gladly make it again - it was a snap in the food processor. But for everyday use, bring on the Best Foods.

I like to mix mayo with some mustard, and use it as a coating for chicken or fish. Or use this mixture as a base coat on chicken legs, which are then rolled in a bread crumb/parmesan/herb/salt/pepper mixture and baked. It makes a fabulous coating, works well on other chicken cuts and fish too.

Then there's my favorite use, good ol' tuna salad.

Marcia.

[rjwong]

NulloModo, I'm beginning to like you. To be honest, I was wondering what kind of person you are with that avatar until you said the magic word: MAYONNAISE!!

Out here in Southern California, It's Best Foods for me. I definitely put mayo on my hamburger, on my hot dog, with chilled asparagus, with artichokes. I combine mayo with ketchup as a sauce for Dungeness crab. One of my favorite combinations is ordering a beef brisket sandwich on an onion bun with a side of mayonnaise, thin-to-medium layer on BOTH halves of the bun. Add plenty of pepper....

Thank you for starting this thread at the "Mayo" clinic.

[jess mebane]

McCormick's Mayonesa; there's lime in them there eggs 'n oil.........

[Bernaise]

At last a mayo thread!

I used to be a Hellman's fan but then one day....I noticed that it ad a funny after taste. Today I stay away from it because it tastes like fish oil to me. Once when I was young I tasted something called chefmaster margerine and it tasted like fish oil to me too. I am wondering if

Has Hellman's changed the oil they use?? any thoughts?

Recently I have been trying some of the organic short shelf life mayo products. So far ok but nothing that makes me long for the toasted tomato sandwich experience.

oh yeah, there's a funny mayo link out there somewhere!

[Priscilla]

Today I made tuna salad with (the wondrous the beautiful fridge staple) Best Foods orange top, the lime-juice mayonesa. Like the Best Foods I grew up with, only better.

And then for dinner we happened to be having a composed salad, including beef & potatoes and h.b. eggs, for which I made a mayonnaise with an egg and grapeseed oil and a good hit of mustard and minced shallot.

Also there's the squishy bottle of Kewpie mayonnaise at the ready. Recently met a guy from QP USA who informed me that it's its being made in a vacuum that accounts for its superdense velvetyness. Its acid is rice vinegar, which also contributes to its flavor profile -- perfect for lots of things, but not a replacement for Best Foods orange top, or homemade, neither.

Mayonnaise, may she be many and varied.

[hazardnc]

I grew up in a Miracle Whip/Parkay margarine/canned veggies household. My mother ued to serve a "salad" of canned pear halves with a dollop of Miracle Whip topped with grated cheese. She also used the stuff to make her carrot salad with raisins. I can still taste the Carl Buddig deli meat sandwiches on white bread (Mrs. Baird's bakery) bread, topped with potato chips or Fritos for crunch she would pack in my lunch box.

Now, I cannot stomach either Miracle Whip or margarine. We are a Hellman's family, but I will buy Kraft if I have a coupon and can save $$. I live in the South, and have tried to learn to like Duke's, but it is redolent of Miracle Whip - YUK! I tried to make homemade, but it just could not compete with the Hellmans.

Like Paula Dean, mayo is my FAVORITE condiment. I like it on sandwiches, on my hot dogs, hamburgers and even CORN DOGS ! I like it in salads, on fries, on a spoon. I have been known to schmeer a slice of turkey with mayo and eat it straight. It took my husband a few years to get used to my mayo addiction. He thought it odd that I put mayo on my boglona sandwiches (not just mustard), but this is a man who SALTED his boglona

Favorite summer sandwich is tomato on squishy white bread with mayo and a dash of S&P.

Edited February 16, 2005 by hazardnc (log)

[*Deborah*]

I grew up in a Miracle Whip/Parkay margarine/canned veggies household. My mother ued to serve a "salad" of canned pear halves with a dollop of Miracle Whip  topped with grated cheese.  She also used the stuff to make her carrot salad with raisins. 

Ha ha ha one of the reasons I am not that fond of mayo is that my WASP grandmother put a dollop of it on top of her lime Jell-o "salad" with grated carrots...nearly turned me off Jell-o as a child!

[hjshorter]

I grew up with Miracle Whip. It was what my dad preferred - his family was all from the OK panhandle and I think it's most popular in that part of the country.

I don't make homemade mayonnaise very often because I have little kids and can't find pasteurised eggs anywhere.

I used to buy Hellmans, but switched to Duke's. It has a surprisingly short ingredient list and no sugar.

[NulloModo]

NulloModo, I'm beginning to like you. To be honest, I was wondering what kind of person you are with that avatar until you said the magic word: MAYONNAISE!!

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Err, did I somehow pick a controversial avatar?

Where does everyone find this Latin American market Mayo? Do you only see it in the south or can you find it in Mexican groceries in other parts of the country? I am going to have to be on a hunt for this stuff now, it sounds really good.

[browniebaker]

Hellman's only. I'll go without mayo if I have to, until the next sale or coupon comes along. The ideal is always to have a couple of backup jars of Hellman's in the pantry.

I use Hellman's mayo everywhere: on hamburger buns; on the outside of grilled cheese sandwiches before grilling; in sandwiches of just mayo on soft white bread; to make my pimiento cheese, potato salad, chicken salad, shrimp salad, and tuna salad; to make cucumber finger-sandwiches -- so much better than butter; and, sometimes for old time's sake, in certain Jello ("congealed") salads, folded in with the likes of whipped cream, cream cheese, and canned fruits and/or marshmallows, just like Mom used to make.

One reason I use the same mayo always is so that I get consistent results wiuth my recipes.

Also, I love the mayonnaise-based sauce used in Chinese-style dish of Honey-Walnut Shrimp.

I love mayo on almost any savory (not sweet) sandwich.

Is there any problem with mayo on pastrami? I don't think so!

The only place I can't stand mayo is in chocolate cake, ick.

And lips that touch Miracle Whip won't touch mine!

[jilli42]

Hellmans here. Nothing else is better.

As for usage, I use it on a lot of stuff. One of my favorites would have to be mixed with ketchup and used as a dip for french fries.

Love it on sandwiches & burgers. I also use it for my grilled cheese sandwiches. Haven't had it on a hot dog, but I will have to give that a try.

I use it in potato salad, macaroni salad. Or any other kind of "salad".

I also make baked chicken with it. Mix bread crumbs, seasoning, parm cheese. Coat chicken with mayo, roll in breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven until done. MMMM.

[slkinsey]

Wow, I wouldn't have thought I was in the minority here. I make my own. In a blender, there's nothing to it.

I'm in that minority as well! I almost always make my own. Not only is it much tastier, but it's easy to include any special flavorings you might want -- cayenne, garlic, parsley, chipotles, cilantro, lime, wasabi, mustard, curry spices, walnut oil, olive oil, capers, cornichons, etc.

My usual recipe is egg yolk, salt, lemon juice, neutral oil and a touch of evoo. I make it in the "minibowl" that sits inside the main bowl of my KitchenAid food processor. I find that a two cup food processor works much better than a blender at making reasonably small quantities of mayonnaise -- especially if you like to make it extra thick (which I like to do if I am going to be using it for something like chicken salad). With a conical blender, there is too much splashing around and sticking to the sides. And I always seem to end up with a fine mist of mayonnaise on my face.

One other effect of making your own mayonnaise: You might not eat as much of it, and appreciate it more when you do. Why? Well, because it's pure fat. To make one cup of mayonnaise, you combine one egg yolk with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice... and a cup of oil.

No Hellman's.  Duke's!!!

Yep. Duke's is the only jarred brand I'll use. I always snag some when I'm down South. There is a certain creaminess to Duke's that no other brand has. How can you not like a brand started by "Mrs. Eugenia Duke of Greenville, South Carolina?"

[arjay]

May the Lord bless you who can't buy Duke's at his local grocery, and educate those who don't know what they are missing.

[NulloModo]

I can live without Duke's, I mean, it is good stuff, but I guess I am too used to Hellman's. What I really miss about the south is not being able to buy Bama peanut butter...

[Behemoth]

No Hellman's.  Duke's!!!

Yep. Duke's is the only jarred brand I'll use. I always snag some when I'm down South. There is a certain creaminess to Duke's that no other brand has. How can you not like a brand started by "Mrs. Eugenia Duke of Greenville, South Carolina?"

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I must admit I am impressed by the ingredient list:

Ingredients:  Soybean oil, eggs, water, vinegar, salt, oleoresin paprika, and natural flavors.

The other brands all seem to use at least some form of preservative. What kind of shelf life does this Duke's stuff have?

[Toliver]

I seem to remember a Good Eats episode about mayo from back when we basked in the glow of the Food Network.  Alton was fairly specific about leaving the mayo out for a period of time after whipping and before refrigerating for long-term storage.  Perhaps a few hours.  I wish I could remember why.  Anyone have the episode on tape or DVD?

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Ask and ye shall receive.

Here is the quote from the transcript of the show from the Good Eats Fan Pages:

And there we have it. Ah, good body, nice cling, and the flavor, mm, just try to get that out of a jar. But it does fit in a jar. Now I usually cover my fresh mayo and leave it at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours. [camera does a double-take on the jar] Now take it easy. Take it easy. I know. Leaving raw eggs in this zone sounds like crazy talk. But here's the thing. There's a small, tiny, infinitesimal, little chance that, uh, that egg yolk was contaminated with salmonella. Now the cold of the refrigerator would prevent that salmonella from breeding but it will not actually kill it. Acid, on the hand, will. And with a pH of, wow, 3.6 this is a decidedly acidic environment. But for reasons that still have lab-coaters scratching their heads, acid does its best bug killing at room temperature. So leaving this out for 8, 10, even 12 hours is sound sanitation. After that, straight to the refrigerator for no more than a week. You can even put it in the door.

[FoodMan]

I do not eat that much mayonaise . Mainly becuase of the claories involved, and because when I do eat it I like a nice thick shmeer of the stuff. With this being said if I am making burgers or any other MAyo loving food (steak sandwiches, Slaw, poato salad, BLT,..) I always make my own ina blender, it takes a couple of minutes and IMO tastes better than anything in a jar be it Hellman's or Kraft, either of which can be found in my fridge for the occasional use.

Someone said that mayo can be made without a blender in 2 minutes?? HOW? It is a very slow process by hand, and I only did it a couple of times for fun.

Elie

[Franky2Times]

Mayo is the food of gods. I agree with Hellmans being a perferctly fine product but I prefer the Whole Foods brand strictly for taste. I used to be able to find DeJardine's Jalapeno Mayo (which was the best to me before I discovered Whole Foods) but it seems to have been off the shelves for awhile now, at least here in the Northeast. Can you still find it anywhere else???

[MarketStEl]

Okay, now that I'm caught up with this thread:

Whole Foods 365 Brand: Tried it once. Too runny, and too lemony for my taste.

Growing up: I was raised on Miracle Whip. (I recall seeing a map once--one of those "At Last Count" maps that run in The Atlantic Monthly--that tracked the mayo/Miracle Whip dividing line. That line closely paralleled the Mason-Dixon one, with Miracle Whip country lying to its south.) And even now, I occasionally get a craving for the stuff. I think it goes better with fresh tomatoes and makes a tangier potato salad. But I can get an equally tangy potato salad using mayonnaise, pickle relish and the right amount of vinegar. That leaves fresh tomatoes, which are not reason enough for me to keep Miracle Whip on hand.

My own mayo preference: The first mayonnaise I ever ate was Hellman's. No, I've never made my own. When I lived in Boston, I used Cain's; when I moved here, I was perfectly happy using the America's Choice store brand. No longer--I've gone back to my roots and use only Hellman's. (I always stock up when it's on sale and use coupons.)

What I use it on: Never, never on hamburgers, and that's even after eating Whoppers, which were the first burgers I ever had with mayo on them. Fries? Sure. Tomatoes? Definitely. Also in salad dressings--I make a rather interesting dressing with mayo, ketchup, Dijon mustard and maybe a little onion powder. BLTs--it's either mayo or blue cheese dressing. If my partner didn't have a thing about heavy sauces on chicken, I'd use it more with chicken dishes.