Most people assume that mayonnaise came from France. Especially French people… But people living in the small spanish island of Menorca have their own opinion about the history of mayonnaise. They claim that the name says it all! The biggest city of Menorca is called Mahon and mayonnaise sounds like Mahon-aise. Going back in history, it was around the middle of 1700 that mayonnaise appeared in Menorca. French had besieged the island and the Duke in charge of the troops was enjoying his food. His chef brought him to try mayonnaise. Either he had to create it through experimentation - because there was no decent sauce on the island - or the locals showed him how to make it because they already knew…

However, it was a product of Menorca and later became popular in France according to the above.

Some believe that this story is supported by the fact that French cuisine had no reference to mayonnaise until the mid-18th century. It would be logical that the French, returning from Menorca, came home with the idea and the recipe.

However, there is another point of view.

The most reasonable argument is that all the old recipe books that describe mayonnaise are French and there is no mention of Menorca or Spain in them. In a way, it is strange to believe that there is even such an argument for a food that is really quite basic.

Mayonnaise has only two ingredients - eggs and olive oil - so why can't it be invented independently in more than one location?

Ingredients:

The original recipe is made with these two ingredients, oil and egg. Nowadays, the recipe has more ingredients like vinegar, mustard or lemon. It is also possible to replace the main ingredients (principally the eggs) with other substitutes, plant-based, in order to suit new diets that appeared, like veganism.

 

Other variant for using it :

Mayonnaise has so many usages, on so many levels! Mayonnaise can even be used as a substitute for hair to moisturize it and help the growth! 

Apart from that, mayonnaise is first and foremost known as an universal base for a lot of sauces like cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, fry sauce and andalus sauce. It is mixed with different other sauces like ketchup and spices in order to have different flavours.

 

Mayonnaise around the globe:

Mayonnaise is known and sold worldwide. Mayonnaise market is huge in the United States of America. Mayonnaise market is larger than the ketchup market. The countries that consume mayonnaise the most are Chile, European countries, Russia, Japan and the USA.

However, the consumption of mayonnaise is not the same in all these countries. For example, in the United States, it is mainly used as a dipping sauce/condiment for food. But, it is not common to eat it with fries. On the other side, Belgians and europeans in general, like to eat and dip their fries in mayonnaise. For the mentioned countries, mayonnaise is only an accompaniment  to their dishes. Other countries like Russia, use it as a proper ingredient in national dishes, such as the famous Olivier’s salad. Or in Chile, mayonnaise is added to everyday-snacks and recipes (such as sandwiches…).The use of mayonnaise suits the eating-habits of each country. Either way, side dish or in the main dish, mayonnaise gives pleasure to all the people that taste it.