The website onlyinyourstate.com lists the white sauce at Big Bob Gibson BBQ among its “twelve things you have to eat in Alabama before you die.” The dish ranks along the fried green tomatoes at Irondale café, the oyster sampler at Wintzell’s Oyster House, and the chocolate chip peanut butter pie at the original oyster house.
Mayonnaise is considered the base for Alabama white sauce, which is used as a marinade and sauce for barbecue chicken and pulled pork. The Associated Press reports that mayo is America's most popular condiment. While ketchup may be the first food flavor topper on most American's minds, for the past twenty years, it's been eclipsed by its more continental brother. Statista reports 280 million Americans have a jar of mayonnaise in the fridge — more than 75% of the United States population.
That number dipped in 2019, but by some miracle mayo continues to whip all other condiments.
The actual invention of mayonnaise is a hotly debated issue, but French Chef G. Auguste Escoffier named mayonnaise the "mother sauce" of all cold sauces in 1903. Buy Your Bottles notes Richard C. Hellmann created and marketed his mayonnaise in 1920. With that, the new kid on the condiment block at the time took off. 100 years later, this non-dairy, creamy coulis is so popular that global sales may exceed $ 18.4 billion by 2032.
A Culinary Backbone
Mayonnaise has a home in many different dishes. It's long been a preferred sandwich spread and burger condiment but is also used in casseroles, dips, and salads. Many people say it's not real potato salad without a dollop of mayonnaise, but it's also the base for meat salads, including tuna, chicken, and ham.
Creamy coleslaw would be unrecognizable without mayonnaise, and several salad dressings, including bleu cheese, ranch, and Thousand Island, also need mayo to come together.
Mayonnaise covers a lot of general cooking territory. It adds creaminess to mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs and holds the toppings for Mexican street corn in place. It also coats fish and chicken before adding a crispy topping. Some cooks even use it for dipping before battering chicken for frying. Used cold, it's the starting point for a variety of dips. A basic Google search for "mayonnaise-based dips" yielded 28 million results.
Many cooks also swear by mayonnaise in baked goods. Several chocolate cake recipes use the condiment. The extra fat in the recipe makes the results richer and more moist, with a better mouthfeel.
The Global Market
Mayonnaise is a popular condiment worldwide. It's been the most popular topping in Japan since Toichiro Nakashima introduced the Kewpie brand in 1925. Even professional chefs use it to top pizza, sushi, salads, and ramen.
United Kingdom residents generally prefer "salad cream," which is closer to the U.S. brands of "salad dressing" like Miracle Whip. Heinz reported sales of its salad cream to over 7.8 million consumers in 2022. In 2018, the most recent year figures are available, Statista reported Miracle Whip racked up over $160 million in sales in the U.S.
Is It Healthy?
Even though mayonnaise is popular, is it healthy? It depends on who you ask. Some top U.S. mayo brands contain soybean oil, which contains omega-6 fatty acids. These are necessary nutrients, but too much may contribute to obesity and heart disease. Homemade mayonnaise using organic olive oil is a healthier option.
Anna Chesley, founder of the 1800s Housewife blog, says, "With a kiddo that can't have corn or soy, I am either stuck buying very expensive brands or making my own. It's so easy to make, with organic oils and eggs from our coop, it's rare that I end up reaching for store bought."
Vegan mayonnaise is another option touted for its health benefits, but Heidi Bender from Tons of Thanks says, "How can vegan mayo be a product when the definition of mayonnaise includes an egg yolk? So vegan mayo is an imposter with [a] similar texture. Probably. I have never tried it."
As for low-fat mayonnaise, Bender says, "And how about that low-fat mayo? How does that work? Traditional mayonnaise [has] only a few ingredients. So I don't understand how it can be low fat. Removing it [and] adding ingredients makes it something different."
Those on keto diets may want to consider homemade mayonnaise a valid food choice since they can control the ingredients, and traditional mayonnaise has zero carbohydrates. Plus, using a healthier oil lowers the omega-6 content and makes it suitable for consumption in moderation.
Other Uses
For years, people have found other uses for mayonnaise. Some women use it as a hair mask to introduce moisture to very dry or damaged hair. While lice infestations are rare in the U.S., one non-chemical remedy is to slather the hair in mayonnaise, cover it with plastic wrap, and warm it with a hair dryer on low heat. This suffocates the creatures, and they can be combed out of the hair. It can also remove bubblegum or other sticky substances from hair and fabric.
According to Business Insider, mayonnaise can also remove watermarks from wood and lighten yellowed piano keys. It eliminates crayon marks from walls without harming the paint and even removes road tar from automobile exteriors.
Speaking of tar, Live Science reported that Israeli wildlife rescuers fed mayonnaise to baby sea turtles after a 2021 oil spill devastated the country's coastline. The mayo helped the turtles clear their tracheas and digestive tracts of the oil and tar, enabling them to be released safely into clear water off the coast.
