Common applications for Mayonnaise, or "mayo" as it is more frequently known, include slathering it over sandwiches, burgers, salads, and French fries. Tartar sauce, fry sauce, remoulade, salsa golf, and rouille all start with this basic ingredient.
Mayonnaise is an emulsion made of oil, egg yolk, and an acid, typically vinegar or lemon juice several variations exist utilizing different oils and/or other flavorings. The consistency can range from a light cream to a thick gel, and the color from nearly white to pale yellow.
Egg allergies, dietary cholesterol restrictions, and veganism are just a few of the reasons why egg-free commercial substitutes exist.
HISTORY:
The history of mayonnaise is somewhat unclear, but it is believed to have originated in either France or Spain in the 18th century.
One popular theory is that the sauce was created by the chef of the French Duke de Richelieu during the Seven Years' War in the mid-1700s. According to this theory, the chef was preparing a celebratory meal after the Duke's victory at the port of Mahon in Menorca, Spain, and ran out of cream for a sauce. He substituted olive oil and created the first version of mayonnaise.
Another theory is that the sauce was developed by Spanish cooks in the town of Mahon itself, who were looking for a way to use up the large quantities of olive oil produced in the region.
Regardless of its origins, mayonnaise quickly became popular throughout Europe and spread to other parts of the world through trade and colonialism. By the 19th century, it had become a staple condiment in many countries, including the United States.
Today, mayonnaise is used in a wide variety of dishes, from sandwiches and salads to sauces and dips, and is available in many different flavors and varieties.
The term "mayonnaise" appears to have been first used in reference to French cuisine in the year 1806. Many competing theories have been advanced over the years to explain where mayonnaise first made an appearance. Most theories, however, agree that Mahón, Menorca, Spain, is where the sauce was first created. Some authors have brushed aside competing theories about the sauce's origin, arguing that it probably originated in the port city of Menorca rather than southwestern France.
The Duc de Richelieu conquered the Spanish Balearic Islands in 1756, and Émile Littré speculates that it may have originated in Mahón, the capital of Menorca. Mahonnaise, a sauce made from the only two ingredients he had on hand (egg and oil), would have been presented to him by his cook. Nonetheless, descriptions of this sauce began appearing a short while before this event, and several variants of a similar sauce existed in both France and Spain.
The ancient remoulade may have been the inspiration for the modern mayonnaise sauce. One possible origin for mayonnaise is the same source as aioli. Last but not least, the ability to emulsify egg yolk has long been known to pharmacists, who have used this technique to create a variety of ointments and salves. Given that olive oil is a key ingredient in mayonnaise, its possible Spanish origin has been cited. Similar reasoning has been used to propose that Spanish territory was the cradle of the French fry.
Remoulade sauce has been around for quite some time, and both warm and chilled variations of the sauce exist. In both cases, the dressing started with oil, vinegar, salt, herbs, and sometimes other ingredients like capers or anchovies before finishing with mustard.
Vincent La Chapelle, in the early 18th century, came up with the idea of using a binding agent called "velouté," which is based on roux, a mixture of flour and fat. Garlic cloves are boiled in water, crushed with salt, pepper, capers, and anchovies, and then mixed with oil in François Marin's "beurre de Provence," a recipe published in 1742 in the Suite des Dons de Comus. Additionally, this is very similar to aioli, with the egg yolk being added in a later step.
Mayonnaise can be traced back to 1750 when a Valencian friar named Francesc Roger Gomila published a recipe for it in his book Art de la Cuina ('The Art of Cooking'). The aioli bo is what he calls the sauce. The way it is used, the preparations for which it is used as a base, and the dishes with which it is most commonly associated are typically inconceivable without an aioli, even if he does not describe the recipe precisely (implying that it was known by everyone on the island). Similar emulsified sauces, typically containing garlic, can be found in a variety of Spanish recipe books as far back as the 14th century Llibre de Sent Sov, where it is known as all-i-oli, which translates to "garlic and oil" in Catalan. Since Juan de Altamiras included a recipe for this sauce in his acclaimed 1745 cookbook, Nuevo Arte de Cocina ('New Art of Cooking'), its popularity clearly spread beyond the borders of the Crown of Aragon.
The Duke of Richelieu invaded Menorca on April 18, 1756, and seized the city of Mahon. The cook for the Duke of Richelieu is said to have taken a liking to the aioli bo sauce and brought it back to France, where it became famous as mahonnaise. Legends arose about how the Duke of Richelieu first tasted the sauce, with some saying he invented it as a quick garnish and others saying he discovered it in a local inn of Mahon and asked the innkeeper to make him some dinner during the siege of Mahon.
But if you want to make a distinguished dish out of this cold chicken, you compose a bayonnaise, whose green jelly, of a good consistency, forms the most worthy ornament of poultry or fish salads, as described by Grimod de La Reynière in his 1808 cookbook.
In 1806, André Viard modified this remoulade recipe for publication in Le Cuisinier impérial by swapping out the roux for egg yolk. In a different recipe for an Indian remoulade that doesn't call for mustard, he notes that adding the oil gradually helps the mixture bind together. This is the first time in modern times that a cold emulsified sauce has been mentioned. Mayonnaise, the first documented use of the term, is also proposed by him in the same book, though his version is not an emulsion but rather a sauce related to velouté and jelly.
It wasn't until 1815 that a cold "magnonaise" emulsified with egg yolk was mentioned; the inventor, Antonin Carême. Mayonnaise has an English etymology that dates back to 1815.
According to Auguste Escoffier, mayonnaise is the progenitor of all cold sauces in France, including espagnole and velouté.
INGREDIENTS OF MAYONNAISE
- Oil: Typically, a neutral-flavored oil such as canola, vegetable, or soybean oil is used.
- Egg yolks: Raw egg yolks are used as an emulsifier to help blend the oil and vinegar or lemon juice.
- Vinegar or lemon juice: An acid such as white vinegar or lemon juice is used to give the mayonnaise its tangy flavor and also to help stabilize the emulsion.
- Salt: To enhance the flavor.
- Mustard: Optional, but often used to add flavor and help stabilize the emulsion.
- Sugar: Optional, but sometimes added to balance the tanginess of the vinegar or lemon juice.
Note that homemade mayonnaise can also be made with pasteurized egg yolks or egg yolks that have been cooked using a double boiler or sous-vide method to reduce the risk of foodborne illness from consuming raw eggs.
USES:
Mayonnaise is a staple in many cuisines and is the foundation for countless other cold sauces and salad dressings. In traditional French cooking, mayonnaise and mustard are combined with other ingredients like gherkins, capers, parsley, chervil, tarragon, and even anchovy essence to make sauce rémoulade.
ADVANTAGE:
Plenty of vitamins can be found in it. Mayo is a tasty way to get some of your daily recommended amount of vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamin supplementation has dual benefits, boosting the immune system and providing antioxidant protection. It's a good source of Omega 3 and 6.
DISADVANTAGE:
Consuming excessive amounts of mayonnaise is linked to hypertension. Mayonnaise actually contains a high concentration of omega-6 fatty acids, which have been linked to a rise in blood pressure. Mayonnaise has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.