Mayonnaise: Spreading Truth

Last week, we were butchering the pigs and the BEST part of butchering the pig is taking whatever piece of meat you want, cooking it up right there and eating it! There is nothing like fresh meat taken right off of a primal cut.

So, last week it was lunch time - there were several pieces of meat in the skillet and a big pan of sautéed greens and that was lunch!  Until Fernando asked for the mayo.  UGH!  That is like asking for catsup with the filet mignon.  I announced that the only mayo we had was Vegenaise and it probably wasn’t going to make the grade, especially with a table full of chefs when Hellmann's is the go-to in most kitchens!  But I grabbed a jar of Vegenaise and behold!  It became a down right mayo fest with a little pork!  We all agreed it was the best tasting mayo and it sure tasted good on the fresh butchered and cooked pork.

Everyone wanted to know why not Hellmann’s – not that it was missed, just a curious question.

Well, to start, Hellmann's contains unlabeled GMO ingredients.  The Hellmann's brand is owned by Unilever (also the parent company to Ben & Jerry’s), which is among the greatest purveyors of Frankenfood in the general market.  Unilever spent $467,100 to defeat Proposition 37, the California Right to Know GMO labeling campaign.  Nothing good about supporting Unilever in my opinion.

So, let's examine Mayo a little closer:

Mayonnaise, as you probably know, is an emulsion of eggs and oil.  It is very easy to make at home:

Break 2 yolks into the blender (or food processor or a bowl) and slowly whisk in some oil (it can be olive oil or grapeseed, but not canola or vegetable (unless you don’t mind a few GMOs with your mayo) until it gets thick and creamy.  A dash of salt, a spoonful of mustard, and a squeeze of lemon juice.  But here is the secret ingredient: rice wine vinegar and preferably sweetened organic rice wine vinegar!  The acid and the sweetness is the perfect balance.

While we are on brands:

The Trader Joe's mayo - At first glance the label looks fairly clean:  soybean oil, whole egg, cider vinegar, egg yolk, water, distilled vinegar, lemon juice (from concentrate), salt, spice, natural flavor

BUT, the soybean oil will contain GMOs.  They don't have to label soybean oil as to whether it is GMO.

Soybean Oil should be on your “Do Not Eat” list

Most mayonnaise is not good for you because the first ingredient (and therefore the most plentiful ingredient) it contains is soybean oil.  And most brands have the words “Natural Flavoring”.  The term "natural flavor" is usually a euphemism for MSG (monosodium glutamate) .

It’s difficult to know whether MSG is in your food, because it goes by so many aliases.  As always, you are better off choosing fresh, unprocessed foods, to avoid MSG.  But becoming familiar with the hidden names of MSG can also help you decode the labels.  Here is just a sampling of ingredients that contain MSG:

• Gelatin
• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
• Yeast Extract
• Malted Barley
• Rice Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup

So, let’s get back to that store bought Vegenaise by Earth Island.  You can find this at Whole Foods in the refrigerator section (for some weird reason it is usually located near the kombucha and fermented foods, not with the other refrigerated condiments),  but be sure to get the one with the purple lid containing Grapeseed Oil.  You can find this Vegenaise at Tisbury Farm Market if you are on island.

This company has been around for 40 years, and if you go on their website, they suggest Vegenaise be refrigerated: “Vegenaise is kept constantly refrigerated to keep it as fresh as the day it was made.”  You will also learn from their website: “It's made using solar energy, so it's better for the environment than most companies, and it's much healthier than traditional egg-based mayonnaise (even those that claim they are lower in fat and cholesterol or just made with egg whites). “

Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise ingredients: grapeseed oil, filtered water, brown rice syrup, apple cider vinegar, non-GMO soy protein, sea salt, mustard flour, lemon juice concentrate

As a chef, I have always found it curious that people are more concerned with food that contains mayonnaise as being a potentially hazardous food, then say the protein it binds together with.  Example:  The concern is more with the mayonnaise than the chicken when it comes to chicken salad that has been left out of refrigeration, but mayonnaise contains vinegar and other ingredients that make it acidic, and therefore very likely to protect against spoilage.

The Journal of Food Protection did a study, and found that when mayonnaise was used, the growth of salmonella and staphylococcus bacteria in contaminated chicken and ham salad slowed down or stopped completely and that he more mayonnaise used, the more the rate of growth decreased.

I know this is a lot to consider over a tablespoon of mayo, BUT, maybe just, maybe this will get you to make your own;

Just make sure you use local eggs fed organic grain….