Miracle Whip is a
sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...
condiment
A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific Flavoring, flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is serv ...
manufactured by
Kraft Heinz
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage ...
and sold throughout the United States and Canada. It is also sold by
Mondelēz International
Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, holding and drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an ...
(formerly also Kraft Foods) as "Miracel Whip" throughout Germany.
It was developed as a less expensive alternative to
mayonnaise
Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...
in 1933.
History
Premiering at the
Century of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...
World's Fair in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in 1933, Miracle Whip soon became a success as a condiment for fruits, vegetables, and
salads
A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...
.
Its success was bolstered by Kraft's advertising campaign, which included sponsorship of a series of two-hour radio programs. At the end of its introductory period, Miracle Whip was outselling all mayonnaise brands.
According to Kraft archivist Becky Haglund Tousey, Kraft developed the product in house, using a patented "
emulsifying machine", invented by Charles Chapman, to create a product that blended mayonnaise and less expensive salad dressing, sometimes called "boiled dressing"
and "salad dressing spread". The machine, dubbed "Miracle Whip" by Chapman, ensured that the ingredients, including more than 20 spices, were thoroughly blended.
Another story claims that Miracle Whip was invented in
Salem, Illinois
Salem is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,485 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Salem is located at (38.6282, -88.9482).
According to the 2010 census, Salem has a total area of , of w ...
, at Max Crosset's Cafe, where it was called "Max Crossett's X-tra Fine Salad Dressing", and that Crosset sold it to Kraft Foods in 1931 for $300 (). While stating that Kraft did buy many salad dressings, Tousey disputes the claim that X-tra Fine was Miracle Whip.
Since 1972, Miracle Whip has been sold as Miracel Whip in Germany.
It was formerly produced by Kraft Foods, and is now made by Mondelēz International, in
Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...
.
Ingredients and nutrition
Miracle Whip is made from water, soybean oil,
high-fructose corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzym ...
,
vinegar
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...
,
modified corn starch
Modified starch, also called starch derivatives, are prepared by physically, enzymatically, or chemically treating native starch to change its properties. Modified starches are used in practically all starch applications, such as in food produ ...
, eggs, salt, natural flavor,
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
flour,
potassium sorbate
Potassium sorbate is the potassium salt of sorbic acid, chemical formula CH3CH=CH−CH=CH−CO2K. It is a white salt that is very soluble in water (58.2% at 20 °C). It is primarily used as a food preservative (E number 202). Potassium sor ...
, spice, and dried
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
. The original Miracle Whip is produced using less oil compared to traditional mayonnaise, thus has around half of the calories. Due to added corn syrup it is also sweeter compared to mayonnaise.
Advertising
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...
announced a new partnership with the Miracle Whip brand in 2009.
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Miracle Whip attempted to appeal to younger audiences, with Miracle Whip advertising featuring prominently in the
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
video game ''
Skate 3
''Skate 3'' is a skateboarding video game, the third installment in the ''Skate'' series and the sequel to 2009's ''Skate 2'', developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It was released worldwide in May 2010 for PlayStation 3 and ...
'', including a dedicated trick, contest, and an
achievement called ''Don't Be So Mayo''.
Kraft paid
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
to include Miracle Whip in the music video for her song "Telephone". Television adverts described Miracle Whip as an alternative to "real boring" mayonnaise. Criticism by
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
led to Miracle Whip buying ad time on his show, ''
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...
'', and attacking Colbert for being a "mayo lover". This also included publishing an open letter stating the attack was "raising
hell, man". Eventually, this advertising was dropped.
In 2018, the town of
Mayo, Florida
Mayo, Florida is a town and the only municipality in Lafayette County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,237 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. In August 2018, Mayo temporarily changed its name to Miracle W ...
, temporarily changed its name to Miracle Whip as a promotional stunt.
See also
*
Salad cream
Salad cream is a creamy, pale yellow condiment based on an emulsion of about 25–50 percent oil in water, emulsified by egg yolk and acidulated by spirit vinegar. It is somewhat similar in composition to mayonnaise and may include other ingredie ...
, a British creamy yellow condiment
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Food
Kraft Foods brands
Mondelez International brands
Products introduced in 1933
Salad dressings
Brand name condiments
Canadian cuisine
Cuisine of Chicago
Condiments