Mayonnaise-Which Tastes Best?

"Dinner on the Grounds," original painting by Olivia ThomasonPhoto byDown South Today

By Doc Lawrence

If food preferences are an indication, we may be more divided as a people than popularly imagined. Who would think that mayonnaise, of all things, would stir raw emotions and threaten friendships? Welcome to the mayonnaise wars, a sometimes heated (but almost always courteous) debate about what good people with a sophisticated palate prefer on their salads and sandwiches.

Richard Lewis, a renowned observer of Southern Food, makes no secret of his mayonnaise preference.Photo byDown South Today

Begin with Pimento Cheese. This wildly popular Southern sandwich assumes prominence as the weather warms; and, it won’t be long until another classic, the tomato sandwich appears as homegrown tomatoes are ready for picking and slicing. Both require mayonnaise, the spread that mysteriously elevates them from the ordinary.

Choosing the mayonnaise stirs passions. People have strong opinions. Which one has the best taste? What is the difference? The one’s most mentioned are easy to find in stores: Duke’s, Hellmann’s and Blue Plate. There are others, notably Bama, but “the big three” dominate the great debate.

Picnics, family reunions, patio entertaining, church suppers, dinner on the grounds and the wonderful spring and summer festivals showcase good food and lots of home cooking. Mayonnaise, whether on sandwiches or in salads is omnipresent.

Pimento Cheese-A Southern StaplePhoto byDown South Today

What a tasteless world we would have without mayonnaise. It’s essential for Deviled Eggs, Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, Carrot Salad and Pimento Cheese. Tartar Sauce, a must for the magnificent fried soft shell crab sandwich would be tasteless without it. Remove mayonnaise from Shrimp Remoulade and it would become the equivalent of junk food.

The pimento cheese sandwich, like the fabled Green Jacket, is part of the tradition at The Masters. Potato salad, carrot salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs, cole slaw appear on picnic tables and are staples at church celebrations like Dinner on the Grounds.

One high-profile food enthusiast swears he can identify his preferred mayonnaise. “It’s Duke’s for me,” said Richard Lewis, a Mississippi native, and LSU guy now retired from Virginia tourism, living the good life in Richmond. “As a mayonnaise aficionado, I can tell the difference,” he claims. “I’m a Duke’s man first, last and always. I put it on nearly anything including potato chips. Why,” he asks, “would anyone would want to ruin a tomato sandwich with a poor substitute?”

Pimento Cheese Sandwiches made with Duke's sold out at Finster Fest Folk Art Celebration.Photo byDown South Today

It’s “Hellmann’s and nothing else,” proclaims Stone Mountain, Georgia’s Olivia Thomason. Lauded as “Georgia’s queen of folk art,” by Atlanta historian Dr. Richard Funderburke, her paintings celebrate family feasts and church gatherings like dinner on the grounds. “Hellmann’s is ‘in’ my paintings wherever food is depicted.”

Jenny Hall, is an acclaimed gourmet cook and legendary entertainer. Her mayonnaise preference is “Blue Plate by far. I always get compliments when I use it,” adding that “Duke’s is good and folks like things I make with it, but with Blue Plate I get a lot of ‘how did you make this?’ and ‘this is the best I’ve ever had’!” The Hogansville, Georgia resident who also teaches piano, said she is “always disappointed when I use any other brand.”

Gainesville, Florida’s highly respected angler and outdoors writer Tommy Thompson is also an accomplished cook and a committed Duke’s enthusiast. Sarasota-based celebrity chef and cookbook author Judi Gallagher prefers Hellmann’s but admits that “Duke’s is a close second.” Commerce, Georgia resident and prominent newspaper editor Angie Gary, minces no words: “I thought Duke’s was the only mayonnaise!”

Delicious Fried Soft-shell Crab Sandwich.Photo byDown South Today

Tina Cox, another Duke’s loyalist, said the Chattooga Garden Club sold all their Pimento cheese sandwiches at this year’s Finster Fest, the annual celebration of folk art at Rev. Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden in Summerville, Georgia. Ms. Cox guards the recipe: “It’s top secret,” she said, but generously agreed to share her mother’s recipe:

Adelaide's Pimento Cheese

8 oz block white sharp cheddar

8 oz block yellow sharp cheddar

large jar pimentos (or you can roast 2 red peppers/diced)

Dash of lemon juice

White pepper

Salt

Duke's Mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients together except cheese. Grate cheese just before mixing and add just enough mayo to moisten. Refrigerate overnight (never eat pimento cheese the day you make it). Serve on soft white bread and you may consume with or without the bread crust. To kick this recipe up a notch, substitute one block of cheese for gouda and Tabasco sauce for lemon.

You may also serve pimento cheese with hot red pepper jelly on the side with Ritz crackers as an appetizer. For the ultimate southern slider, layer pimento cheese, hot red pepper jelly in a Hawaiian roll for your tailgate or steeplechase party.

The debate rages with no end in sight.

Which mayonnaise do you prefer? Why?