Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise was invented by the French chef of Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu, in 1756. While the Duke was defeating the British at the successful siege of the English-held St. Philip's Castle, on the island of Minorca, his chef was creating a victory feast that included a sauce made of cream and eggs. When the chef realized that there was no cream in the kitchen, he improvised, substituting olive oil for the cream.

The successful siege in Mahón, port city and the capital of Minorca, resulted in the French's gain of the entire island. The sauce was named "Mahonnaise", in honor of the Duke's victory.

In 1905, a German immigrant, Richard Hellman, opened a delicatessen in New York. Salads sold at the delicatessen contained mayonnaise, which his wife made. The condiment proved very popular so seven years later, he began selling it in bottles. Hellman's bottled mayonnaise was a huge commercial success and people found it especially quick and easy to use as a coleslaw, (a dressing for shredded cabbage).

The US consumes over $2bn worth of mayonnaise a year.

60% of the fat and 31% of the calories in Burger King's Chicken Sandwich come from the mayonnaise alone.

Commercially produced mayonnaise has a high enough acidity that bacteria growth associated with food-borne illnesses is slowed and the product doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Mayonnaise can be used as a hair conditioner.

In Japan, it is common to use mayonnaise on pancakes.

Source Food For Thought by Ed Pearce