Miracle Whip: The Topic

[divalasvegas]

Inspired by the wisdom and good taste of Fresser's recent topic on how to make a sandwich,

How To Make A Sandwich

I noticed an abundance of Miracle Whip haters out there in eGullet-land. So I began to search through eG to see if there was a thread of admiration on Miracle Whip and once again amazingly there wasn't one. So I'm outing myself and say that, while I do use mayo (preferably Hellmanns but will also use Kraft) I also use Miracle Whip. I'd like you MW lovers to come out of the shadows and take a public stand for this miraculous condiment. Come on, be brave even though Busboy has promised that he is compiling a list of people who admit to using this product for future blackmail purposes. Please don't leave me hangin'. I want all two or three of you out there to step out and give the great MW its props.

As for the haters, please hold off, at least for a little while and let a few MW lovers express their affection this tangy and delicious spread.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Diva, thank you for this thread! While I confess to not ever buying it, it's a huge, part of my childhood. Wonder Bread, Bologna, Velveeta "Cheese," and Miracle whip sandwiches, along with a big piece of iceberg lettuce, were the staples for every kid I knew. I can't not love something that reminds me of being a kid again.

Plus, it really does taste better in some uses. Nonbelievers should try it before they slam it.

[srhcb]

I also like Miracle Whip for some things (tuna salad), and mayo for others (turkey sandwiches).

SB (doesn't ever dare suggest a Velveeta lovers thread)

[MGLloyd]

Sign me up as someone who uses Miracle Whip in the appropriate settings.

[divalasvegas]

Thanks for the support FabulousFoodBabe. I think that Miracle Whip is definitely one of those products that takes us back to our childhoods, for better or worse.

And srhcb and MGLloyd I think you've got it: it's not that folks don't like MW, they just don't understand how to properly use it! The educational possibilities of this thread are staggering.

[Badiane]

We never had actual mayonnaise in our house when I was growing up...until I was 15 and got a job in a restaurant, I thought that Miracle Whip and mayonnaise were the same thing. My mother still uses it for everything.

Miracle Whip is the secret ingredient in my devilled eggs, and it's the best for chicken and turkey sandwiches. It's definitely got it's place my kitchen.

[Flocko]

I never had Miracle Whip while growing up, only Best Foods Mayo...............Now I am a MW afficianado!! I use it 5 to 1 over Mayo.

Blackmail away

Bill

[srhcb]

I thought that Miracle Whip and mayonnaise were the same thing

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Check out the Miracle Whip Web Site for answers to all your questions.

I think Kraft made a serious marketing error by failing to differentiate between Miracle Whip and mayo. Since they offer both products, you'd think they would want people to buy a jar of each?

SB (also prefers MW on a BLT)

[Marlene]

I am definately in the camp that uses Miracle Whip in certain situations. One of the potato salads I make uses half Miracle Whip, half mayonnaise. I use it in deviled eggs, and chicken and turkey sandwhiches. And I prefer it over mayonnaise for BLTs.

[jsolomon]

I only use mayo when I make it myself, so I'm firmly in the Miracle Whip camp.

There's just nothing like it on a ham and cheese melt...

[divalasvegas]

I am definately in the camp that uses Miracle Whip in certain situations.  One of the potato salads I make uses half Miracle Whip, half mayonnaise.  I use it in deviled eggs, and chicken and turkey sandwhiches.  And I prefer it over mayonnaise for BLTs.

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I do the same thing for one of my potato salads too Marlene. Also had it today on a good old fashioned tamater (read that tomato) sammich. Hmmm, the silence from Busboy is rather ominous but I'm sure he'll surface at some point.

Press on........................

[bigbear]

.....  I use it in deviled eggs, and chicken and turkey sandwhiches.  And I prefer it over mayonnaise for BLTs.

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Bingo. I'm guilty.

[BigboyDan]

Miracle Whip: nastiest crap ever.

[Kim Shook]

I loves me some Miracle Whip. I used to use it interchangably with mayo, but use it mostly for sandwiches now.

[pamjsa]

Count me in. I use mayo in recipes that call for it, but on a sandwich, in potato salad, in deviled eggs--it's the Miracle every time.

[GourmetLight$]

I can't stand the taste of Miracle Whip on its own, but for some reason it's all I use when making Waldorf Salad.

[Idlewild]

I'm from away and it took me about two years to get straight in my head whether cool whip was the mayonnaise-ish substance or miracle whip was. Which made reading recipes that included either rather Especially once I stumbled across a now long-departed cookie recipe book that leaned heavy on the mayo for moisture. Ugh. However, I mostly posted to register amusement at the linked miracle whip page with the comparison between mayo, with 0% Tangy Zip® and Miracle Whip with 100% Tangy Zip®. It's good to have the nutrition information up front like that!

[suzilightning]

i, too, have been abused for my love of miracle whip. i grew up with it. johnnybird grew up with mayo. i make mayo from scratch but do not get between me and my miracle whip(light these days). it is the best in a chicken waldorf salad, my mom's stuffed- no mustard- eggs, a turkey sandwich on portugese sweet bread with cranberry sauce, potato salad with onion, chopped eggs, peas, relish and miracle whip, very chunky blue cheese salad dressing. tuna salad with celery salt, minced shallots and miracle whip on toast or mixed into macaroni salad with red and green peppers, a piece of toast with miracle whip, a fresh jersey tomato slice and a piece of swiss cheese......

viva la whip

[jsolomon]

My parents have gone to light. It is so much more sweet, and so much less tangy that I can't stomach it.

I'm sorry suzulightning, but light MW ain't MW.

[andiesenji]

I too am a fan of Miracle Whip in certain applications.

For instance, slathered on two pieces of homemade bread, sourdough if possible, between which are arranged slices of fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and slices of sweet red onion (since the Bermuda has apparently gone the way of the Dodo).

And, on occasion, when I get some really sweet iceberg lettuce (it's rare, but not all of it is tasteless) I will whip up a batch of "Russian" dressing.

Waldorf salad is another application, however I mix it half and half with sour cream, homemade if I am feeling ambitious.

Then there is the blue cheese (actually gorgonzola) and Miracle Whip veggie dip that cannot be duplicated with any other mixture - and I have tried many, many times.

[Fresser]

Miracle Whip was the standard tunafish fixin' when I was growing up.

One of my favorite meals in the 1970's was tunafish (made with Miracle Whip, of course) served alongside Kraft macaroni & cheese. My tastebuds have matured since then--I haven't eaten the blue-box concoction in YEARS--but I still like Miracle Whip.

[Kerry Beal]

Half a ripe avacado, small spoonful of MW. Childhood!

[Luckylies]

I grew up on mayo, and always wondred why some potato salads and egg salads were "sweet" Nobody could ever give me a straight answer! finally someone called miracle whip "dressin'" as in "salad dressing" the fog cleared from before my eyes and I stood, proudly, for the first time, in the mayo camp.

[divalasvegas]

As GourmetLights$ said, when I make Waldorf salad, I only think of using that delectable stuff in very small quantities to lightly dress and bind it (since I have all the ingredients, I'll be making this soon). At least for me, when I think about the traditional ingredients in Waldorf salad--apples, raisins, walnuts, and celery--MW just makes sense and tastes great. Of course, I tend to be a purist with those ingredients but can understand how there can be tasty variations on this theme. However, I remember being horrified at Alton Brown's reinterpretation that added sliced onions, curry powder, and mint and NO MIRACLE WHIP!

AB's "Reinvented" Waldorf Salad

And as for you BigboyDan am I to infer that you don't like Miracle Whip?

[Fresser]

My parents have gone to light.  It is so much more sweet, and so much less tangy that I can't stomach it.

I'm sorry, Suzilightning, but light MW ain't MW.

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Never before has an eGullet thread propelled me to my fridge to read a jar label...

My own Miracle Whip label--yes, the same one featuring the vaunted Classic Turkey Sandwich recipe--declares that regular Miracle Whip has a mere 3 grams of fat per serving. How much lower in fat could Miracle Whip Light be?

Edited June 4, 2006 by Fresser (log)