Duke's Mayonnaise is a

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

created by Eugenia Duke in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

, in 1917. Duke's Mayonnaise is the third-largest

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

brand in the

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(behind Hellmann's and

Kraft Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

), however its popularity was at first largely limited to the South."Duke's Mayonnaise: The Southern Spread with a Cult Following"
''The Washington Post'', November 5, 2013. It is used in regional favorites such as

coleslaw Coleslaw or cole slaw (from the Dutch term , meaning 'cabbage salad'), also widely known within North America simply as slaw, is a side dish consisting primarily of finely shredded raw cabbage with a salad dressing or condiment, commonly eithe ...

, tomato sandwiches, deviled eggs, pimento cheese, and

potato salad Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. It is usually served as a side dish. History and varieties Potato salad is foun ...

. Duke's Mayonnaise contains more egg yolks than other mayonnaise products and no added sugar. It also uses apple cider vinegar in place of distilled white vinegar. The combination apple cider vinegar and absence of added sugar give the mayonnaise its signature flavor which the brand proudly markets: "It's Got Twang

Early history

Group photo mayo mfg convention boston nov 1928

In August 1917, Eugenia Duke and her daughter Martha began selling sandwiches at

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

-run Army canteens to help make money for her family. Due to requests from soldiers at nearby Camp Sevier which was a

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

training camp and other customers (she had quickly expanded the places to which she sold her sandwiches), she started bottling her mayonnaise around 1923. In November 1928, she was a speaker in Boston at the Mayonnaise Manufacturer's Convention. Unable to keep up with demand, she sold it to the C. F. Sauer Company in 1929.

With C. F. Sauer

In 1929, the C.F. Sauer Company in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, purchased Duke's products and Duke's Mayonnaise became the company's flagship product. The plant is located in Mauldin, South Carolina which is southeast of Greenville. The facility was featured in a '' How It's Made'' episode about mayonnaise in 2011. In 2017, the

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

legislature recognized the centennial of Duke's. Duke's Mayonnaise was available throughout the

, as well as in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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and the

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. In 2017, Sauer announced that it was also starting sales to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. In 2019, Falfurrias Capital Partners acquired C.F. Sauer and the Duke's brand.

Eugenia Duke

Eugenia Thomas Slade Duke (October 1881 in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

–1968) created Duke's Mayonnaise in 1917, in

. When Eugenia Duke was 18, she married Harry Cuthbert Duke in 1900 and moved to Greenville. She was active in working towards passage of the

Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its U.S. state, states from denying the Suffrage, right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recogni ...

granting women the right to vote. After the sale of the company, Eugenia Duke followed Martha, her only child, to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and opened the Duchess Sandwich Company as well as the Duchess Catering Company.

References

External links

* {{portal bar, Food Brand name condiments Mayonnaise 1917 establishments in South Carolina Companies based in Greenville, South Carolina American companies established in 1917

Early history

With C. F. Sauer

Eugenia Duke

See also

References

External links