What is mayonnaise?
A: Mayonnaise is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing.
It is commonly used on what?
A: Sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries.
It also forms the base for various other sauces, such
as what?
A: Tartar sauce, fry sauce, remoulade, salsa golf, and rouille.
Basic mayonnaise is an emulsion of what?
A: 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 what?
A: Pale yellow, and its texture from a light cream to a thick gel.
Commercial eggless imitations are made for whom?
A: For those who avoid chicken eggs because of egg allergies, to limit
dietary cholesterol, or because they are
vegans.
The process of emulsifying egg yolk was known for a
long time to pharmacists, who used it to prepare what?
A: Ointments and salves.
Modern mayonnaise can be made by hand with what?
A: A whisk, a fork, or with the aid of an electric mixer or blender.
How is it made?
A: 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 what?
A: A base of the emulsion, while lecithin and
protein from the yolk is the
emulsifier that stabilizes it.
A combination of van der Waals interactions and
electrostatic repulsion determine what?
A: The bond strength among oil droplets.
Addition of mustard contributes to the taste and does
what?
A: Further stabilizes the emulsion, as mustard contains small amounts of
lecithin.
If vinegar is added directly to the yolk, it can do
what?
A: 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 what?
A: Water.
Once emulsified, the remaining ingredients are then
added and then what?
A: Vigorously mixing until completely hydrated and evenly dispersed.
Oil is then added as rapidly as what?
A: As it can be absorbed.
Miracle Whip was developed as a what?
A: A cheap imitation of mayonnaise.
Since it does not meet the legal definition of
mayonnaise, it is marketed as what?
A: Salad dressing.
Egg-free imitations of mayonnaise are available for
whom?
A: Vegans and others who avoid eggs or cholesterol, or who have egg
allergies.
In the U.S., why can these imitations not be labelled
as "mayonnaise"?
A: Because the definition of mayonnaise requires egg.
Egg-free imitations generally contain what as the
emulsifying agent to stabilize oil droplets in water?
A: Soya or pea protein.
Commercial mayonnaise sold in jars originated where?
A: In Philadelphia in 1907 when Amelia Schlorer decided to start selling her
own mayonnaise recipe in the family grocery store.
Around the same time in New York City, a family from
Vetschau, Germany, at Richard Hellmann's delicatessen on Columbus Avenue,
featured his wife's what?
A: Homemade recipe in salads sold in their delicatessen.
The condiment quickly became so popular that Hellmann
began selling it in what?
A: "Wooden boats" that were used for weighing
butter.
In 1912, Mrs. Hellmann's mayonnaise was mass-marketed
and was trademarked in 1926 as what?
A: Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise.
Where is Hellmann's known as Best
Foods?
A: In the Western United States.