The famed American author, who specializes in horror and suspense novels, recently posted a question on Twitter about the graphically gelatinous condiment's color. Not surprisingly, hundreds of mayonnaise lovers and haters stepped out of the shadows to reply.
Operating under the theory that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask (a postulate with which some may disagree), I pose this: Why is mayonnaise white?
"Operating under the theory that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask (a postulate with which some may disagree), I pose this: Why is mayonnaise white?" King wrote.
One tweeter said that the spread must be white because some recipes call for egg whites. But that idea was quickly shot down.
It's not, though. It's made from egg *yolks,*, plus salt, vinegar, oil, and a dash of ground mustard. Homemade mayo is faintly yellowish.
Clearly (if that was the intention), it didn't work too well. Plenty of people are still skeeved out by the texture, taste and even smell of mayo, regardless of it being white or yellow.
Remaining neutral in tweeters' love-hate relationship with mayo, TODAY Food asked chef Matt Aita, the culinary director at New York City's The Little Beet Table, about mayo's true colors.
"There's a few factors," Aita told TODAY. "Egg yolks ... What the chickens ate prior can make them whiter or more yellow. If you see [chef and author] Dan Barber's chickens, he feeds them red peppers. So if you made mayonnaise with those eggs, it'd be more orange."
The other factors, said the chef, are "oil and air."
Aita explained how thicker, store-bought mayonnaise usually has more oil in it and is stirred, or aerated, more. Heavy mixing incorporates more air into the condiment, which oxidizes the mayo and creates a whiter color. This process, Aita said, is why most commercial mayo production yields a whiter product, as large machines mix all of the ingredients together more forcefully than someone would while whisking up a batch in their kitchen.
Preservatives, which are listed in Hellmann's original mayo recipe, can also cause some color variation, said Aita. So can adding a ton of extras. Hellman's ingredients include soybean oil, water, whole eggs and egg yolks, vinegar, salt, sugar, lemon juice concentrate, calcium disodium EDTA (a preservative) and natural flavors, whereas many homemade mayonnaise recipes call for just five or six ingredients. With less oil and fewer additives, mayo made at home is more likely to take on the natural yellowy hue of the yolk.
So there you have it, King. It's all about air, oil, additives and what farmers feed their chickens.
Now, we're curious as to whether "The Shining" author's tweet was really just a foreshadowing of his next horror story featuring the gloppy condiment. Oh, wait ... Jimmy Fallon already told that one.
Erica Chayes Wida is an award-winning journalist, food writer and recipe editor who helmed a local newspaper before joining TODAY's freelance team. A mother of two, she loves singing, collecting old vinyl and, of course, cooking. Erica is forever on a worldwide quest to find the best ham and cheese croissant and brainstorms best over a sauce pot of bubbling pasta sauce. Her work has been featured on BBC Travel, Saveur, Martha Stewart Living and PopSugar. Follow along onInstagram.
To start with, egg yolks are the main ingredient in the homemade version, which contributes to the naturally yellowish tone. Commercial mayo, meanwhile, can contain up to around 80% oil, which means there's much less egg in the ratio, and more oil, and that makes store-bought mayo more viscous as well as whiter.
Aita explained how thicker, store-bought mayonnaise usually has more oil in it and is stirred, or aerated, more. Heavy mixing incorporates more air into the condiment, which oxidizes the mayo and creates a whiter color.
Tip 1: Make sure you have room temperature eggs and flavourings. Mayo is traditionally prepared with a base of egg yolks, rather than whole eggs, because they make for a creamier and richer final product. However, lots of today's recipes use whole eggs too.
Since yolks impart most of the yellow color (from plant pigments called xanthophylls), this reduces color considerably. Store mayonnaise also uses some whole eggs, not just yolks, which do not emulsify as well, but are cheaper.
Emulsification: Egg yolks contain lecithin, a fat that is essential to emulsification (the process of combining liquids that don't mix on their own, such as oil and water or the ingredients for homemade mayonnaise).
But, commercial mayo has more oil and less eggs, as well as a host of other ingredients such as preservatives, which gives it a lighter color. The way store-bought mayo is mixed on a huge scale also adds more air, which contributes to the pale hue.
Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and an acid, either vinegar or lemon juice; there are many variants using additional flavorings. The color varies from near-white to pale yellow, and its texture from a light cream to a thick gel.
Hellmann's is based upon an authentic egg yolk recipe, just like it has been since 1913 when Richard Hellmann first created it. It's the premium ingredients in Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise that create its unbeatable, creamy flavour.
They have been owned by the British multinational company Unilever since 2000. The Hellmann's brand is sold in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains; Latin America; Europe; Australia; the Middle East; Canada; India; and Pakistan.
Trader Joe's mayonnaise is clearly meant to be a stand-in for Hellman's—they even have nearly identical packaging. The ingredients lists are also quite similar, though Trader Joe's uses a combination of distilled vinegar, lemon juice, and cider vinegar for its zip.
According to culinary historians, mayonnaise was first prepared by a French chef in 1756 as a part of a victory feast for capturing the Port Mahon located on the island of Minorca, Spain. In those days, sauces were prepared by combining cream and eggs.
Mayonnaise combines egg, acid (vinegar or citrus juice, sometimes both) and oil, while aioli combines egg, garlic and oil. Aioli's texture is a little thicker than glossy mayonnaise. Meanwhile, hollandaise is a warm sauce that uses butter in place of oil.
While we generally think of mayonnaise as that gloopy, light beige-ish vinegar and mustard-accented sauce, pretty much any yolk + oil emulsion could qualify as a mayo according to the basic definition. In other words, aioli and hollandaise are specific types of mayo (but not all mayos are aioli or hollandaise).
Egg emulsifiers are perhaps the easiest to replace. Plant-derived lecithins such as soya lecithin make good substitutes. Flax or chia seeds, bananas or mustard can also be used to stabilise emulsion droplets.
Store-bought mayonnaise is often a bright white color due to the addition of food coloring and other ingredients, while homemade mayonnaise can vary in color from a pale yellow to a slightly off-white color, depending on the ingredients used and the method of preparation.
Yep, that's a real thing. I am completely aware that my mayonnaise is yellow and kind of looks like a tiny bowl of soup. That's why I titled this "Yellow Mayo" so you wouldn't freak out.
Most light mayonnaise: Light mayo has half the calories of regular mayo, but most contain modified food starch, sugar, gums and other additives not found in regular mayo.
Discoloration can occur in mayonnaise at a number of stages in the manufacturing process. First, raw materials such as eggs, oil, vinegar, and spices can vary in color to some degree. Next, improper ingredient ratios can affect color as well, such as the inclusion of too much egg yolk instead of egg white.
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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