Everyday Systems

I don't think I've seen the commercial, but I'm aware that chef Bobby Flay is the spokesperson for Hellman's mayonnaise "real ingredients" or "real food" advertising campaign. There is some question, however, about how real their ingredients are. "Natural flavoring"is usually code for some form of msg.

I don't use mayonnaise often. In fact, I use so little that I usually buy only the 8 oz jars. But this might move me more towards making my own.

In case you were wondering about Miracle Whip, here's the ingredients list: Water, soybean oil, vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, modified food starch, eggs, salt, mustard flour, artificial color, potassium sorbate as a preservative, paprika, spice, natural flavor, dried garlic.

If you do decide to make your own, could you let us know what recipe you used? I would also like to make my own (for my fiance, not me I don't eat mayo) but I wouldn't mind some tips. Do you know how long you can store home made mayo?

Wow, Miracle Whip is as artificial as it tastes! How dare they put HFCS in something and claim it's better for you!

Okay, for all that I prefer "real" food, this is where my face gets red.

I might live in New England, but I grew up in Virginia. I stock up on Duke's mayonnaise every time I go down to visit my family, and you couldn't take it away from me with a shotgun.

NoelFigart wrote:Okay, for all that I prefer "real" food, this is where my face gets red.

I might live in New England, but I grew up in Virginia. I stock up on Duke's mayonnaise every time I go down to visit my family, and you couldn't take it away from me with a shotgun.

I think everyone has their vices. I'm a huge advocate for real food and homemade food, and 99% of the food in my kitchen is either a raw, whole ingredient or a dish made by scratch from me. But I've still got Heinz Ketchup in the fridge and don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. I think the important thing is having foods like that be a minimal part of your diet. A spoonful of Duke's mayo spread on your sandwich or a squirt of ketchup on my eggs is just fine, especially if having it is an informed (Ie I know what HFCS is, I know I'm not going to destroy my health by having a miniscule amount of it from a squirt of ketchup twice a week) choice..

NoelFigart wrote:Okay, for all that I prefer "real" food, this is where my face gets red.

I might live in New England, but I grew up in Virginia. I stock up on Duke's mayonnaise every time I go down to visit my family, and you couldn't take it away from me with a shotgun.

I looked up Dukes -- it's worse than Hellman's. Duke's isn't available in my area. In fact, I'd never seen it until I saw the picture on their web site. But I do use both Hellman's and Miracle Whip. Just depends on what I'm making. I rationalize it by saying that 70% or more of what I cook is real food and 30% or less is store bought -- making my way of cooking "mostly homemade."

Nicole, you've got to remember that Big Food doesn't think there's anything wrong with HFCS -- though I've got to wonder how many families of Big Food executives avoid foods with HFCS.

If you're really interested in trying to make your own mayo, I'd suggest checking out this episode of Good Eats. I haven't tried it myself, but the tips given on this show are generally reliable and quite useful.