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Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy
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 wor ...
or dressing commonly used on
sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
es, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar sauce,
fry sauce Fry sauce is a condiment often served with French fries or tostones (twice-fried plantain slices) in many places in the world. It is usually a combination of one part tomato ketchup and two parts mayonnaise. Historically, the Argentinian salsa g ...
, remoulade,
salsa golf ' (Spanish for "golf sauce") is a cold sauce of somewhat thick consistency, common in Argentina. According to legend, it was invented by the physician Luis Federico Leloir in the mid-1920s at a golf club at the seaside resort Mar del Plata. Tire ...
, and rouille. Mayonnaise is an
emulsion An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Alth ...
of oil, egg yolk, and an acid, either vinegar or lemon juice; there are many variants using additional flavorings. The color varies from near-white to pale yellow, and its texture from a light cream to a thick gel. Commercial eggless imitations are made for those who avoid chicken eggs because of
egg allergies Egg allergy is an immune hypersensitivity to proteins found in chicken eggs, and possibly goose, duck, or turkey eggs. Symptoms can be either rapid or gradual in onset. The latter can take hours to days to appear. The former may include anaph ...
, to limit
dietary cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic compound, organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or chemical modification, modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all animal Cell (biology)# ...
, or because they are
vegans Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
.


History

''Mayonnaise'' is a
French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...
appellation that seems to have appeared for the first time in 1806. The hypotheses invoked over time as to the origin(s) of mayonnaise have been numerous and contradictory. Most hypotheses do however agree on the geographical origin of the sauce,
Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the archipelago and autonomous commun ...
, in
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its cap ...
, Spain. Other theories have been dismissed by some authors as being somewhat a retrospective invention aiming to credit the sauce as an invention of south-western France, when most likely, its origin can be found in the port city of Menorca. According to
Émile Littré Émile Maximilien Paul Littré (; 1 February 18012 June 1881) was a French lexicographer, freemason and philosopher, best known for his ''Dictionnaire de la langue française'', commonly called . Biography Littré was born in Paris. His father, ...
, it may have come from Mahón, capital of Menorca, in the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
, Spain, occupied by the English at the time and then conquered by the
Duc de Richelieu Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it dow ...
in 1756. His cook would have presented him with this sauce, called the "mahonnaise", made with the only two ingredients he had: egg and oil. Nevertheless, this sauce was starting to be described a little before this event while several versions of similar sauces existed in France and in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. Mayonnaise sauce may have its origins in the ancient remoulade. Another hypothesis is that mayonnaise is derived from
aioli Aioli, allioli or aïoli ( or ; Provençal oc, alhòli or ''aiòli'' ; ca, allioli ; es, alioli ) is a cold sauce consisting of an emulsion of garlic and olive oil; it is found in the cuisines of the northwest Mediterranean, from Andalusia ...
. Finally, the process of
emulsifying An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although ...
egg yolk was known for a long time to pharmacists, who used it to prepare
ointments A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...
and salves. Some have pointed out that it would make sense that mayonnaise originated in Spain given its requirement of olive oil, a liquid produced and consumed mostly there at the time. This hypothesis is similar to another that places the origins of French fries in Spain for the same rationale. Remoulade sauce was known for a long time and there were hot and cold versions of it. In both cases, the base was oil, vinegar, salt, herbs, often other ingredients such as capers or anchovies, and then mustard; in short, it was an enriched vinaigrette. In the early 18th century,
Vincent La Chapelle Vincent La Chapelle (1690 or 1703 – 14th of July 1745 in Apeldoorn) was a French master cook who is known to have worked for Phillip Dormer Stanhope ( 4th Earl of Chesterfield), William IV, Prince of Orange, John V of Portugal and Queen Marie ...
had the idea of incorporating "velouté", based on
roux Roux () is a mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and c ...
, a mixture of flour and fat, to bind it. In 1742, François Marin published in the ''Suite des Dons de Comus'' a recipe called "beurre de Provence" which contains garlic cloves cooked in water, crushed with salt, pepper, capers and anchovies, then mixed with oil. This recipe is also close to the aioli, the egg yolk appearing later. In 1750, Francesc Roger Gomila, a
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
n friar, published a recipe for a sauce similar to mayonnaise in ''Art de la Cuina'' ('The Art of Cooking'). He calls the sauce ''aioli bo''. If he does not describe precisely the recipe—suggesting that it was known by everyone on the island—the way it is used, the preparations for which it is used as a base and the dishes with which it is associated are most often inconceivable with an aioli. Earlier recipes of similar emulsified sauces, usually containing
garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...
, appear in a number of Spanish recipe books dating all the way back to the 14th century Llibre de Sent Soví, where it is called '' all-i-oli'', literally 'garlic and oil' in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
. This sauce had clearly spread throughout the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, for Juan de Altamiras gives a recipe for it in his celebrated 1745 recipe book ''Nuevo Arte de Cocina'' ('New Art of Cooking'). On April 18, 1756, the
Duke of Richelieu Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it dow ...
invaded Menorca and took the port of Mahon. A theory states that the ''aioli bo'' sauce was thereafter adopted by the cook of the Duke of Richelieu, who upon his return to France made the sauce famous in the
French court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
. which would have been known as ''mahonnaise'' . A number of legends arose relating how the Duke of Richelieu first tried the sauce, including his discovery of the sauce in a local inn of Mahon where he would have allegedly asked the innkeeper to make him some dinner during the siege of Mahon, and even that he invented it himself as a quick garnish. Another version is Grimod de La Reynière's 1808 ''bayonnaise'' sauce which is a sort of aspic: "But if one wants to make from this cold chicken, a dish of distinction, one composes a bayonnaise, whose green jelly, of a good consistency, forms the most worthy ornament of poultry and fish salads." In 1806,
André Viard André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variat ...
, in Le Cuisinier impérial, transformed this recipe for remoulade by replacing the roux with egg yolk. In another recipe, an ''Indian remoulade'', without mustard, he specifies that the binding is facilitated by incorporating the oil little by little. This is the first modern mention of a stable cold emulsified sauce. In the same book, he also proposes a sauce called ''mayonnaise'' (the first recorded attestation of the name) but which is not an emulsion but a sauce linked to velouté and jelly. It is only in 1815 that Antonin Carême mentions a cold "magnonaise" emulsified with egg yolk. The word "mayonnaise" is attested in English in 1815. Auguste Escoffier wrote that mayonnaise was a French mother sauce of cold sauces, like espagnole or velouté.


Etymology

The origin of the name ''mayonnaise'' is unclear, though some records indicate its introduction to the early 1800s, with numerous suggested, sometimes contradictory suggestions. A common theory is that it is named for
Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
( in Menorcan), itself named after its founder Mago Barca, in
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its cap ...
, in honor of the 3rd Duke of Richelieu's victory over the British in 1756, and in fact the name ''mahonnaise'' is used by some authors. But the name is only attested several decades after that event. One version of this theory says that it was originally known as in Spanish, but that spelling too is only attested later.''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
'', 3rd. ed,
s.v.
''
Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière Alexandre-(Balthazard)-Laurent Grimod de La Reynière (20 November eptember?1758 in Paris – 25 December 1837), was a lawyer by qualification who acquired fame during the reign of Napoleon for his sensual and public gastronomic lifestyle. So ...
, a lawyer by qualification who acquired fame during the reign of
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
for his sensual and public gastronomic lifestyle, rejected the name ''mayonnaise'' because the word "is not French". He also rejected the name ''mahonnaise'' because Port Mahon "is not known for good food", and thus he preferred ''bayonnaise'', after the city of
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...
, which "has many innovative gourmands and... produces the best hams in Europe." Indeed , the city of
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...
(sauce ) could also have given its name to this type of sauce, by spelling deformation. This form would seem to be confirmed by the fact that there is no written record of the sauce before the beginning of the 19th century, long after the capture of the city of
Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the archipelago and autonomous commun ...
. Another hypothesis is based, according to Marie-Antoine Carême, a famous contemporary French chef, on a derivative of (from the verb , or ) or, according to Prosper Montagné, of (or ), based on (or ) which means 'egg yolk', in
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...
. It has also been suggested that the word be linked to the old verb , meaning 'to beat'.
Joseph Favre Joseph Favre (; 17 February 1849 – 17 February 1903) was a famously skilled Swiss chef who worked in Switzerland, France, Germany, and England. Although he initially only received primary education because of his humble origins, as an adult h ...
, for his part, states in his memoirs that mayonnaise is an alteration of the word , derived from ( Lot-et-Garonne), and that a cook from Magnon would have popularized it first in the
South of France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', ...
; he notes that this sauce has been variously named ''mahonnaise'', ''bayonnaise'' and ''mayonnaise''. A more controversial hypothesis, put forward by the linguist and historian Nicolas Lepreux, suggests that mayonnaise originated in the Mayenne region, and that the "e" would have changed into an "o" over time: the apocryphal story tells that the Duke of Mayenne, on the day before the
Battle of Arques The Battle of Arques occurred on 15–29 September 1589 between the French royal forces of King Henry IV of France and troops of the Catholic League commanded by Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, during the eighth and final war (1585-1598) o ...
, overindulged on chickens seasoned with a remarkable sauce, so that the next day he fell off his horse and lost the battle.


Preparation

Recipes for mayonnaise date to the early nineteenth century. In 1815, Louis Eustache Ude wrote:
No 58.—Mayonnaise. Take three spoonfuls of Allemande, six ditto of aspic, and two of oil. Add a little
tarragon Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. ...
vinegar, that has not boiled, some pepper and salt, and minced ravigotte, or merely some parsley. Then put in the members of fowl, or fillets of soles, &c. Your mayonnaise must be put to ice; neither are you to put the members into your sauce till it begins to freeze. Next dish your meat or fish, mask with the sauce before it be quite frozen, and garnish your dish with whatever you think proper, as beet root, jelly, nasturtiums, &c.
In an 1820 work, Viard describes something like the more familiar emulsified version:
This sauce is made to "take" in many ways: with raw egg yolks, with gelatine, with veal or veal brain glaze. The most common method is to take a raw egg yolk in a small terrine, with a little salt and lemon juice: take a wooden spoon, turn it while letting a trickle of oil fall and stirring constantly; as your sauce thickens, add a little vinegar; put in too a pound of good oil: serve your sauce with good salt: serve it white or green, adding green of ravigote or green of spinach. This sauce is used for cold fish entrees, or salad of vegetables cooked in salt water.
Modern mayonnaise can be made by hand with a whisk, a fork, or with the aid of an electric
mixer Mixer may refer to: Electronics * DJ mixer, a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys * Electronic mixer, electrical circuit for adding signal voltages * Frequency mixer, electrical circuit that creates new frequencies from two signals ...
or blender. It is made by slowly adding oil to an egg yolk, while whisking vigorously to disperse the oil. The oil and the water in the yolk form a base of the emulsion, while
lecithin Lecithin (, from the Greek ''lekithos'' "yolk") is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues which are amphiphilic – they attract both water and fatty substances (and so a ...
and protein from the yolk is the
emulsifier An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althoug ...
that stabilizes it. A combination of van der Waals interactions and electrostatic repulsion determine the bond strength among oil droplets. The high viscosity of mayonnaise is attributed to the total strength created by these two intermolecular forces. Addition of mustard contributes to the taste and further stabilizes the emulsion, as mustard contains small amounts of lecithin. If vinegar is added directly to the yolk, it can emulsify more oil, thus making more mayonnaise. For large-scale preparation of mayonnaise where mixing equipment is being employed, the process typically begins with the dispersal of eggs, either powdered or liquid, into water. Once emulsified, the remaining ingredients are then added and vigorously mixed until completely hydrated and evenly dispersed. Oil is then added as rapidly as it can be absorbed. Though only a small part of the total, ingredients other than the oil are critical to proper formulation. These must be totally hydrated and dispersed within a small liquid volume, which can cause difficulties including emulsion breakdown during the oil-adding phase. Often, a long agitation process is required to achieve proper dispersal/emulsification, presenting one of the trickiest phases of the production process. As food technology advances processing has been shortened drastically, allowing about 1000 liters to be produced in 10 minutes.


Imitations

Miracle Whip was developed as a less expensive imitation of mayonnaise. Because it doesn't meet the legal definition of mayonnaise, it is marketed as salad dressing. Egg-free imitations of mayonnaise are available for
vegans Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
and others who avoid eggs or
cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell memb ...
, or who have
egg allergies Egg allergy is an immune hypersensitivity to proteins found in chicken eggs, and possibly goose, duck, or turkey eggs. Symptoms can be either rapid or gradual in onset. The latter can take hours to days to appear. The former may include anaph ...
. In the U.S., these imitations cannot be labelled as "mayonnaise" because the definition of mayonnaise requires egg. Egg-free imitations generally contain soya or pea protein as the emulsifying agent to stabilize oil droplets in water. Well-known brands include Nasoya's Nayonaise, Vegenaise and
Just Mayo Just or JUST may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Just (surname) * Just (given name) Arts and entertainment * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just" (song), a song by Radiohead * "Just", a song from the album ''Lost and Found'' by Mudvayne ...
in North America, and Plamil Egg Free in the United Kingdom.


Uses

Mayonnaise is used commonly around the world, and is also a base for many other chilled sauces and
salad dressing A salad dressing is a sauce for salads. Used on virtually all '' leafy salads'', dressings may also be used in making salads of beans (such as three bean salad), noodle or pasta salads and antipasti, and forms of potato salad. Salad dressin ...
s. For example, '' sauce rémoulade'', in classic French cuisine, is a mix of mayonnaise and mustard, gherkins, capers,
parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, ...
, chervil,
tarragon Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. ...
, and possibly anchovy essence.


Chile

Chile is the world's third major per capita consumer of mayonnaise and first in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
. Commercial mayonnaise became widely accessible in the 1980s. It is a common topping for completos.


Europe

Guidelines issued in September 1991 by Europe's Federation of the Condiment Sauce Industries recommend that mayonnaise should contain at least 70% oil and 5% liquid egg yolk. The Netherlands incorporated this guideline in 1998 into the law ''Warenwetbesluit Gereserveerde aanduidingen'' in article 4. Most available brands easily exceed these targets. In countries influenced by
French culture The culture of France has been shaped by geography, by historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture since the 17th century and from ...
, mustard is also a common ingredient that acts as an additional emulsifier.


Japan

Japanese mayonnaise is typically made with rice vinegar, which gives it a flavor different from mayonnaise made from distilled vinegar. Apart from salads, it is popular with dishes such as '' okonomiyaki,
takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu''), pickled ginger (''beni shoga''), and green o ...
'' and '' yakisoba'' and may also accompany '' katsu'' and '' karaage''. It is most often sold in soft plastic squeeze bottles. Its texture is thicker than most Western commercial mayonnaise. (Q.P.) is the most popular brand of Japanese mayonnaise, advertised with a Kewpie doll logo. The vinegar is a proprietary blend containing apple and malt vinegars. The Kewpie company was started in 1925 by Tochiro Nakashima, whose goal was to create a condiment that made eating vegetables more enjoyable.


Russia

Mayonnaise is very popular in Russia, where it is made with
sunflower oil Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil is primarily composed o ...
and
soybean oil Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processe ...
. A 2004 study showed that Russia is the only market in Europe where more mayonnaise than ketchup is sold. It is used as a sauce in the most popular salads in Russia, such as Olivier salad (also known as Russian salad), dressed herring, and many others. Leading brands are Calvé (marketed by
Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
) and Sloboda (marketed by Efko).


United States

Commercial mayonnaise marketed in jars originated in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
in 1907 when Amelia Schlorer began marketing a mayonnaise recipe originally used in salads sold in her family's grocery store. Mrs. Schlorer's mayonnaise was an instant success with local customers and eventually grew into the Schlorer Delicatessen Company. Around the same time in New York City, a family from
Vetschau Vetschau/Spreewald ( dsb, Wětošow) is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated in the Spreewald, 18 km west of Cottbus. History Vetschau was first mentioned in 1302 as Veczicz ...
, Germany, at Richard Hellmann's delicatessen on Columbus Avenue, featured his wife's homemade recipe in salads sold in their delicatessen. The condiment quickly became so popular that Hellmann began selling it in "wooden boats" that were used for weighing butter. In 1912, Mrs. Hellmann's mayonnaise was mass-marketed and was trademarked in 1926 as Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise. After numerous corporate iterations, Hellmann's is now marketed in the Eastern United States and as ''Best Foods Mayonnaise'' in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
. Mayonnaise sales are about US$1.3 billion per year in the U.S.


Nutritional information

A typical formulation for commercially made mayonnaise (not low fat) can contain as much as 80% vegetable oil, usually soybean but sometimes olive oil. Water makes up about 7% to 8% and egg yolks about 6%. Some formulas use whole eggs instead of just yolks. The remaining ingredients include vinegar (4%), salt (1%), and sugar (1%). Low-fat formulas will typically decrease oil content to just 50% and increase water content to about 35%. Egg content is reduced to 4% and vinegar to 3%. Sugar is increased to 1.5% and salt lowered to 0.7%. Gums or thickeners (4%) are added to increase viscosity, improve texture, and ensure a stable emulsion. Mayonnaise is prepared using several methods, but on average it contains around per 100 grams, or 94 kilocalories (Cal) per tablespoon. This makes mayonnaise a calorically dense food. The nutrient content of mayonnaise (> 50% edible oil, 9–11% salt, 7–10% sugar in the aqueous phase) makes it suitable as a food source for many spoilage organisms. A set of conditions such as pH between 3.6 and 4.0, and low water activity ''a''''w'' of 0.925, restricts the growth of yeasts, a few bacteria and molds. Yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces, ''Lactobacillus fructivorans,'' and ''Zygosaccharomyces bailii'' are the species responsible for the spoilage of mayonnaise. The characteristics of spoilage caused by ''Z. bailli'' are product separation and a "yeasty" odor. A study suggests that adding encapsulated cells of ''
Bifidobacterium bifidum ''Bifidobacterium bifidum'' is a bacterial species of the genus ''Bifidobacterium''. ''B. bifidum'' is one of the most common probiotic bacteria that can be found in the body of mammals, including humans. Structure and characteristics ''B. bif ...
'' and '' B. infantis'' prolongs the life of mayonnaise up to 12 weeks without microorganism spoilage.


''Salmonella''

Mayonnaise, both commercially processed and home-made, has been associated with illnesses from ''
Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are '' Salmonella enterica'' and '' Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is ...
'' globally. The source of the ''Salmonella'' has been confirmed to be raw eggs. Several outbreaks with fatal cases have been recorded, with a few major incidents. In a 1955 outbreak in Denmark, 10,000 people were affected by ''Salmonella'' from contaminated mayonnaise made by a large kitchen. The pH of the mayonnaise was found to be 5.1, with ''Salmonella'' counts of 180,000 CFU/g. The second outbreak, also in Denmark, caused 41 infections with two fatalities. The pH of the contaminated mayonnaise was 6.0, with ''Salmonella'' counts of 6 million CFU/g. In 1976 there were serious salmonellosis outbreaks on four flights to and from Spain which caused 500 cases and 6 fatalities. In the US, 404 people became ill and nine died in a New York City hospital due to hospital-prepared mayonnaise. In all salmonellosis cases, the major reason was inadequate acidification of the mayonnaise, with a pH higher than the recommended upper limit of 4.1, with acetic acid as the main acidifying agent. Some brands use
pasteurized eggs Pasteurized eggs are eggs that have been pasteurized in order to reduce the risk of food-borne illness in dishes that are not cooked or are only lightly cooked. They may be sold as liquid egg products or pasteurized in the shell. Rationale Th ...
which would reduce this risk factor.


See also

*
List of mayonnaises This is a list of notable mayonnaises and mayonnaise-based sauces. Mayonnaise is a thick cold sauce or dressing and also forms the base for many other sauces. It is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and an acid, either vinegar or lemon juice; Ma ...
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Fritessaus ''Fritessaus'' or ''frietsaus'' ("fries sauce") is a Dutch accompaniment to French fries, served popularly nationwide. It is similar to mayonnaise, but with at most 25% fat, is leaner and usually sweeter than mayonnaise. Mayonnaise in the Netherla ...
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Joppiesaus Joppiesaus is a condiment from the Netherlands based on mayonnaise with mild curry spices. It is commonly offered in fast food restaurants in the Netherlands and Belgium, but is also available in grocery stores. Origin Joppiesaus was created by Ja ...
* List of common dips * List of condiments * List of sauces * Salad cream * Peri-peri, added to mayo to make ''perinaise''


References


External links


Science Channel's ''The Making'' Series: #2 Making of Mayonnaise
(video in Japanese)
NPR's Report on the 250th Birthday of Mayonnaise and its history
{{Use dmy dates, date=November 2015 Condiments Sauces Mother sauces French cuisine Spanish cuisine Japanese condiments