Mayonnaise: the perfect base
Mayonnaise: a special sauce. Full, creamy, and velvety. Nearly everyone loves it, especially paired with French fries, baked potatoes, and snacks. But mayonnaise is so much more than that! It serves as the perfect base for other sauces, as a dressing for salads, or even as the first layer on a sandwich, replacing butter.
Which is true?
Mayonnaise has been around for a very long time, and many stories surround its history and name. So, what’s the truth? Some believe mayonnaise is a corruption of bayonnaise, named after the French town of Bayonne, where the sauce was supposedly first created. Others think its original form was moyeunaise, derived from the Old French moyeu, meaning “egg yolk.”
Strict rules
To be called mayonnaise, a sauce must meet strict criteria. Not all sauces labelled mayonnaise are technically mayonnaise. Today, the European industry has agreed that mayonnaise must be an oil-in-water emulsion containing at least 70% fat and at least 5% egg yolk. Products like lighter mayonnaises with less fat do not meet these standards and cannot be marketed as mayonnaise. Similarly, vegan versions, which lack egg, cannot be called mayonnaise. That’s why we refer to our vegan version simply as Mayo.
What’s in it?
The key ingredients that define mayonnaise are oil and egg yolks. Without these, it’s not legally mayonnaise. But it doesn’t stop there – vinegar and mustard are also essential. These four ingredients form the base of any good mayonnaise. From there, you can get creative! Play with different oils, vinegars, and mustards, or add a variety of flavourings to make your own signature mayonnaise. For example, we create mayonnaise with lemon zest, garlic, and of course, truffle. Some products, however, may contain ingredients that don’t belong, like starch, gums, or preservatives. A well-made mayonnaise doesn’t need these additives. Antioxidants, though, can be necessary to prevent the oil from going rancid, helping the mayonnaise stay fresh and tasty for longer.
Mix it up!
Mayonnaise is an “emulsified” sauce, meaning that oil, vinegar, and mustard do not naturally blend. With a little egg yolk as an emulsifier, they do, creating the full, creamy, smooth texture we all know and love. Our vegan mayo, however, lacks egg yolk. To achieve the right emulsion, we use starch instead. Unfortunately, this starch isn’t allowed in organic products, which is why we don’t have an organic version of our vegan mayo.