Guide Note

Mayonnaise is a Condiment you can make at home and use on sandwiches, hamburgers and salads or you can buy it pre-prepared at the grocery store. The main ingredients in mayonnaise are vegetable oil and egg yolks and it can be flavored with lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and even mustard. Many people think mayonnaise and salad dressing are the same but salad dressing has no egg yolks and has a sweeter taste than mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise is also used as a base for tartar sauce and thousand island salad dressing. Aioli is a garlic flavored mayonnaise.

Fast Facts

1. Also called Mayo
2. Main ingredients: vegetable oil and egg yolks
3. Created using an emulsion
4. French in origin
5. High in fat
6. Commercial mayonnaise is required to be 60% oil
7. Contains Vitamin E
8. Does not cause food borne illnesses

We thought we'd put to rest an old bit of conventional wisdom about mayonnaise that may not be so wise after all. Commercial mayonnaise will not cause food poisoning if it's left out in the heat for a bit. Debbie Elliott confirmed this in a conversation with Michael Doyle, a professor of microbiology and director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. — National Public Radio