Peanut Butter & Mayonnaise Sandwich

Non-regional discussions Food in the news & other media
41

Mayo has teams.

East coast = Hellmans’s, West Coast = Best Food’s. Same company, almost identical packaging. ALMOST identical recipes. Best Foods has been described as ‘slightly tangier’.

Then there’s the U.S. Southeast, with Dukes, which I’ve never had the opportunity to sample. It has a (smaller than the big two above but still) VERY passionate following.

And then there are those that like ‘Miracle Whip’, which as every right thinking person knows, is basically congealed goblin farts.

From there we have to cross one or more oceans before hitting the UK and/or AUS, where you have the ‘real mayo’ vs. ‘salad creme’ debate. Having no real experience between the two, I decline to pick a side here, but I know which way I THINK I’d go…

Finally, there is Kewpie, the Japanese mayo that is maybe a touch sweeter than Best Foods/Hellmans but has an additional hit of MSG in it to balance things out. It’s what makes your cheap califonia roll krab-salad taste that way, and is the base for any creamy karaage dipping sauce.

Of course, homemade mayo is better than ALL of the above and can be made in 2 minutes if you have an immersion blender handy.

Throw in a few garlic cloves for a quick aioli spread, 1/4-1/2 tsp MSG for your own Kewpie style, your hot sauce of choice for a spicy version, the possibilities are literally endless.

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42

Best Foods / Hellman’s!

We try to stick to Veganaise & Ezekiel Bread on the regular. But! The PB&M must be made with Best Foods on White Bread. :grin:

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43

Best Foods / Hellmann’s is made with water and whole eggs. They’re made in the same factory and have identical ingredient lists and nutrition facts, so any difference is very subtle. They taste the same to me, very bland compared with real mayonnaise made from olive oil and fresh lemon juice…

soybean oil, water, whole eggs and egg yolks, distilled vinegar salt sugar, lemon juice concentrate, calcium disodium EDTA (used to protect quality), natural flavors.

Duke’s might have less water. I’ve never tasted it.

soybean oil, eggs, water, distilled and cider vinegar, salt, oleoresin paprika, natural flavors, calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor.

Miracle Whip can’t legally be called mayonnaise. They replace half the oil with water, use cornstarch to keep it emulsified, and add HCFS.

water, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, vinegar, modified cornstarch, eggs, salt, natural flavor, mustard flour, potassium sorbate as a preservative, paprika, spice, dried garlic

Kewpie is made with egg yolks and no water, which makes it much richer. It tastes sweet to me, though there’s no sugar listed in the ingredients and the nutrition info says zero carbs in a 14-gram serving.

vegetable oil (canola oil, soybean oil), egg yolk, vinegar, salt, monosodium glutamate, spice, natural flavor

Oh, the American version’s different. It does have sugar.

soybean oil, egg yolks, water, distilled vinegar, salt, sugar, mustard flour, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, yeast extract, natural flavors

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