Mayonnaise - You Either Like It Or Hate It!

  I  decided to look at mayonnaise today because it plays such an important part in our summer.  In addition to being found in potato or macaroni salads, people throw it on their hamburgers or dip their fries in it.  Personally, I really don't like the stuff because it is so bland but I know people out there who would argue with me.


No one is sure whether it began in Spain or France.  One story states that mayonnaise was created during the siege of Port Mahon on the island of Minorca by the French in 1756. Since the chef to the Duke was unable to get cream of a victory dish, he ended up inventing mayonnaise - a mix of egg and oil, named after the port.  A variation of the story indicated that the chef was taught the recipe by residents who lived on the island of Minorca.

There has always been an argument on who created the condiment.  Many feel it could not have come from Minorca because they were not known for the quality of their cuisine. They say it was originally call bayonnaise after the town of Bayonne which was well noted for the ham it produced.  Yet others claim the name mayonnaise came from the French words for handling or managing, or for the yolk.  So many different theories.  In 1920, the Spanish struck back by claiming the French term mayonnaise was totally wrong and it should be known by it's proper name of Salsa Mayonnaise.

Even food historians are not sure about who invented mayonnaise.  What they can agree about is the ingredient began appearing in both German and British cookbooks on French cuisine in the early 1800's.  The French loved mayonnaise so much, they brought it with them so that. by 1838, Delmonico's in New York offered both a lobster mayonnaise and a chicken mayonnaise.  Furthermore, the salad became the perfect frame for mayonnaise in everything from potato salad to Waldorf salad.

After the invention of the automatic bread slicer in the 1920's, people began using mayonnaise in sandwiches.  Even President Coolidge told the press he loved his aunt's homemade mayonnaise so much but at about this time, homemade mayonnaise began to be made by companies who could produce it and market it easily.  One of the first commercial mayo's came from Richard Hellman who offered two different versions at his deli.  The blue ribbon version was so popular, he bottled and sold it.  By the 1930's, it was found in most houses from rich to poor.

The simplest version of mayonnaise uses only eggs, oil, and lemon juice.  Technically mayonnaise is an emulsion which mixes the oil and lemon juice so both ingredients are broken into small droplets suspended among each other.  The eggs provide the tie to keep the other ingredients in the mixed form.  One ingredient is usually added quite slowly to the other while it is being whisked. If added too fast, the small droplets will not mix right.  It is recommended to use blenders, food processors, or mixers to get the best results.

Mayonnaise is the foundation for such dressings as tarter sauce or ranch dressing.  There is nothing to stop you for adding flavors to your mayo. You can add roasted red peppers and parsley, or a bit of wasabi and lemon juice, or garlic, lemon juice, and black pepper, or ground mustard and dill, or sirracha, lime juice, and light soy sauce, or what ever you want.  You don't have to eat plain mayo.

I've decided I should try adding flavors to mayo to see if that improves things for me.  I hope you learned a bit more about it.  I'll probably discuss other things similar to mayo in a future column.  Let me now what you think, I'd love to hear, have a great day.