Mayonnaise has firmly entered our lives and, it seems, has always been on our table. It is a dressing for many salads and is present in various dishes. However, the age of mayonnaise is not as venerable as many people think, and it appeared in Russia relatively recently.
There are various legends that describe the origin of this noble sauce. All events related to the history of mayonnaise relate to the turbulent events that took place in the 18th century.
№1
The Seven Years' War was going on in 1756. French troops landed on the Spanish island of Menorca, which is located in the Mediterranean Sea, and successfully captured its capital, Mahon. In turn, the English army landed on this island and besieged the fortress. The siege dragged on, and the French troops, commanded by the Duke of Richelieu, had a hard time, since there were practically no provisions.
The defenders of the fortress were left with only a constant “supply” of eggs.
A critical moment came when the French got tired of the monotonous food. This had a negative impact on the morale of the soldiers. The Duke's cook had to show military ingenuity and find a way out of the situation. Born through his efforts new sauce, the recipe for which has survived unchanged to this day.
The resourceful cook ground the egg yolks, added salt and sugar to them. He introduced olive oil into the mixture in a thin stream, accompanying the process with intense stirring. Finally, lemon juice was added to the mixture with continuous stirring. This is how a sauce with an exquisite taste was born.
Experiments with use various products he brought the French into complete delight. The soldiers were soaring in spirit and were able to successfully repel the enemy's attack.
In honor of the city of Mahon, the sauce was called Mahon or, similar to the name in French, mayonnaise. The heroic cook turned out to be a humble man, so his name is forgotten.
№2
The action took place in 1782 in Mahon. At this time, Mahon was conquered by the Spaniards under the command of Duke Louis de Crillon, a Frenchman by nationality.
According to legend, the sauce was invented due to the abundance of food. The Duke decided to celebrate the victory and ordered to decorate the table with some unusual dish. As a result, the idea was born to combine olive oil with eggs, lemon juice, sugar and spices.
It is very difficult to call such a story plausible. With all the desire to please your commander, it is difficult to come up with something fundamentally new in cooking in a short time. From idea to obtaining the required result long haul, requiring time.
№3
The composition of mayonnaise resembles aioli sauce.There is an assumption that the 18th century is not the time when the sauce was invented. According to this hypothesis, mayonnaise was invented much earlier, and not in Mahon. This opinion is based on the assertion that, without guessing what the result would be, the cook would not mix arbitrarily various ingredients. That is, this means that the cook knew what the result of his work would be and had a recipe or heard about someone’s experience.
Before the events in Mahon, no one knew about such a sauce, so it can be argued that this city can be considered the place of invention, and its inventor is a cook who knew the old recipe.
Long before the appearance and popularization of mayonnaise, ali-oli sauce was known. It is of Spanish origin and literally translated its name sounds like “and butter.” It consists of a mixture of eggs, garlic and olive oil and has been known in southern European countries since Antiquity. In the works of Virgil there are references to such a sauce, which has come down to our time under the name aioli. However, its taste is far from delicate taste mayonnaise.
This version is somewhat strained, since it is difficult to find an explanation for the fact that the recipe for the sauce, which has existed for a long time, was not found anywhere until the 18th century. This can only be understood in such a way that before that time it simply did not exist.
Travel from France to Russia
The debate between culinary theorists regarding the origin of mayonnaise continues to this day. However, no one disputes the fact that it was not known until the 18th century, when it took a leading position in the cuisines of Europe.
The cost of mayonnaise was high, and the method of preparation was a secret. At first glance, preparing mayonnaise seems simple, but without certain skills and knowledge of technology it is impossible to make.
The dynasty of French chefs named Olivier is known for many inventions, including one of the sauce variants. Mustard and seasonings were added to it, the composition of which is currently lost. The presence of mustard in the mayonnaise added piquancy to the sauce. In addition, it is a natural emulsifier, which greatly simplifies preparation and increases the shelf life of the product. This sauce is more spicy than the classic version.
One person from the Olivier family - Lucien - came to Russia and became a restaurateur. During the period of his activity in Russia, he made a great contribution to Russian cuisine. One of his works culinary arts is famous salad, named after the author's surname. The dressing for this salad is mayonnaise, which thus began to spread in Russia. About the national love for salad Olivie It’s probably unnecessary to say.
What is mayonnaise?
The consistency of mayonnaise is an oil emulsion. To prepare it use different kinds oils, yolks or whole eggs and various flavorings. Mayonnaise does not contain flour, so it is classified as a noble sauce.
Besides the wonderful taste qualities And nutritional properties, mayonnaise promotes the absorption of foods that are eaten with it. All this is evidence that this sauce is suitable seasoning to a variety of dishes.
Sauces such as aioli, tartar, and remoulade are similar to mayonnaise. In terms of popularity in the world, the sauce is among the top three, along with mustard and ketchup.
Composition of mayonnaise
The ingredients for making traditional mayonnaise are simple, but its quality largely depends on the technology of the process. This sauce should not contain air bubbles, which eliminates the use of a mixer. It takes quite a lot of time to prepare the right mayonnaise, since the entire procedure is done by hand. When choosing ingredients, you can adhere to the following recommendations.
Olive oil
For getting delicious sauce It is recommended to use high quality olive oil. It is difficult to give advice regarding the choice of this product, since there are many varieties. We can say with confidence that you should not buy very cheap oil. It is also better to buy a small sample size. It is perfectly acceptable to experiment with different varieties olive oil to choose the one that suits your taste.
If you see it on store shelves sunflower oil, to which, according to the manufacturer, olive oil is added, then you should refrain from such a purchase. It is important that the quality of the oil is undeniable.
To find out the quality level, you need to carry out a simple test and put the oil in the refrigerator. When cooled, it becomes cloudy, then changes color to white and acquires a very thick consistency.
After removing the frozen oil into the room, it restores its previous appearance. In case to purchase oil white If it takes a significant amount of time or white flakes appear, then suspicions arise about its quality. It may be diluted oil or obtained by pressing the seeds, or this product has nothing to do with olive oil. When using this liquid, the emulsion will not work or will negatively affect the taste of the sauce.
Eggs
Waterfowl eggs are not suitable for making sauce. For getting quality mayonnaise It is advisable to use farm eggs. Moreover, this can be not only chicken eggs, but also quail or turkey.
However, you should know that waterfowl eggs are not suitable for mayonnaise. Due to the fact that such eggs pose a certain threat to human health, they must be boiled for a long time before consumption.
When breaking eggs, you first need to make sure they are of high quality. Then you can begin to separate the yolks from the whites and threads.
Lemon juice
In industrial production, lemon juice replaces vinegar. Mayonnaise, according to classic recipe contains . It is possible to use vinegar, but as a result the taste of mayonnaise becomes coarser and a specific smell of vinegar appears. If the taste of mayonnaise obtained industrially, is familiar, then sauce with vinegar will become a kind of transitional link to the use of mayonnaise prepared at home.
Sugar
There must be sugar in mayonnaise, but only very little small quantity. It is preferable to use powdered sugar, since it dissolves better and faster. Sugar can be replaced with fructose, which is beneficial for human health. In some cases, dry fruits ground in a mortar are used to add sweetness. This slight modification to the recipe is considered advisable for best combination mayonnaise with a certain dish.
Salt and spices
Mayonnaise requires even less salt than sugar. It is advisable to use crushed salt, but be careful not to over-salt. Moderation is also required when adding spices.
Although basic recipe mayonnaise does not imply the presence of spices; variety and new notes will not harm the sauce. This issue should be approached with sensitivity and restraint. The choice of spices is not limited and depends only on the imagination of the cook. As a rule, various herbs are used, previously crushed in a mortar. You need to be especially careful when adding pepper. Its task in mayonnaise is to create a light aftertaste, but not to come to the fore.
Mustard
Mustard is a variable component of mayonnaise. The inclusion of mustard in the sauce is required when preparing the popular Provencal mayonnaise. For this, the simplest table mustard that does not contain additives is best suited.
Quantitative ratio of ingredients
There is no strictly defined ratio of mayonnaise components. As the number of eggs increases, the sauce becomes thicker and the taste more intense. In this case, mayonnaise should be prepared immediately before serving, and storage is limited to one day. As the amount of oil added to the sauce increases, the shelf life increases slightly. However, it is still advisable that the sauce be prepared before using it.
The presence of water, milk or any components from the list present on the factory container is excluded in homemade mayonnaise. If you conduct a comparative analysis of the ingredients of the product, which is available on store shelves under the name “mayonnaise,” it becomes clear that these two products are similar only in name.
A little about industrial mayonnaise
It goes without saying that industrial scale production does not allow us to adhere to the classic recipe for Mahon sauce of the 18th century. The product produced in factories in the USSR was different highest quality. At the same time, the recipe had minimal differences compared to the original. The mayonnaise recipe of the 50s of the 20th century implied the replacement of olive oil with refined oil and the presence of five percent vinegar. All other ingredients and proportions corresponded to the classic recipe. At the same time, the percentage of oil was deliberately reduced to increase shelf life. As a result, the mayonnaise was white and had an acrid taste due to the vinegar.
Over the past three decades, advances in chemistry have become an integral part of all products. The taste of the products has noticeably improved, becoming brighter and more varied, but the composition has become a complete mystery to consumers. Almost everything on sale contains monosodium glutamate, which is used to enhance taste. In combination with it, powerful flavors are introduced that can change and enhance the taste.
Manufacturers' search for ways to reduce costs has led to a reduction in the cost of mayonnaise to an acceptable level, as a result of which its taste has been completely destroyed. In addition, the health safety of such a sauce is highly questionable. Oil is mostly replaced with water, egg yolks - egg powder, and the remaining components are synthesized artificially.
Water and oil are substances that do not mix with each other, so the composition industrial mayonnaise emulsifiers are introduced. They also use powerful equipment to achieve results, which are secured using stabilizers. So that this mixture can be stored for a long time, preservatives are added. As a result, a white mass of the required taste and smell is obtained.
About the benefits of the sauce
When considering the question, it is assumed that we are talking about a product prepared at home. As already noted, there is no need to talk about the presence of positive qualities of store-bought mayonnaise.
Natural products in mayonnaise contain a whole vitamin complex, which has a beneficial effect on human health and increases his immunity. The abundance of vitamins required for the human body improves metabolic processes and normalizes skeletal growth in children.
Use homemade mayonnaise in food prevents the formation of plaques on the walls of blood vessels. This product is able to fight free radicals, thereby reducing the risk of cancer and slowing down the aging process.
Olive oil, which is in the sauce, has a positive effect on the functioning of all internal human organs. Egg yolk and mustard speed up metabolism and promote weight loss in case of excess weight, and stabilize it in case of normal weight. Mayonnaise improves the absorption of fatty and protein-rich foods. Properties lemon juice allow you to remove toxins and waste from the body and saturate it with vitamin C.
All of the above speaks only in favor of homemade mayonnaise.
About the dangers of mayonnaise
To get a complete picture of the properties of mayonnaise, it should be noted that it also has negative qualities. Like any other product, this sauce should be consumed in moderation.
It should be understood that mayonnaise is a source of fat. In sauce from natural products contained saturated fats, and in the store you can find trans fats and Palm oil. All of them can lead to an increase in cholesterol levels in the blood, which contributes to the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease (read about the diet for vascular atherosclerosis in a separate section).
Mayonnaise refers to high-calorie foods, which should be taken into account if you are overweight or have a tendency to gain weight.
If we return to the composition of store-bought mayonnaise, there is not a single argument that would speak of its benefits. The explosive mixture of ingredients in this sauce is the source of many diseases, including cancer.
IN in the usual form Mayonnaise appeared in the USSR in 1936 in Moscow. At the Shelepikha production site they created the first batch of sauce with rich taste and took it to Comrade Stalin for testing. Father of Nations New Product approved, after which mass production of mayonnaise began in the USSR. It began to be included in food packages issued in those years using cards.
Mayonnaise from the past was prepared from natural products, no E-additives or stabilizers. The recipe was: refined oil, fresh yolks, ready mustard, sugar, vinegar, salt and spices. Until the end of the 80s, mayonnaise in the USSR was prepared according to this recipe and was produced only in a 200-gram jar. The shelf life of mayonnaise was one month. Therefore, it was impossible to buy it in advance for the New Year's table.
Mayonnaise equals a holiday
Until the early 90s, it belonged to the category of “scarce” products. If mayonnaise was brought to the store, the line for it would stretch all the way to the next block. This happened rarely - in some areas literally once a year. They bought mayonnaise and treasured it like the apple of their eye. Most Soviet citizens had the opportunity to taste it only on holidays.
It was mayonnaise that supported the three pillars of the Soviet New Year's table - Olivier salad, herring under a fur coat and mimosa. Among other mayonnaise delicacies - egg whites with filling, beet and prune salad, French meat.
When mayonnaise was thrown onto supermarket shelves, people were ready to stand in a giant line. In winter, many took their children with them, because most often they gave a limited amount of goods to one person.
To get not four, but eight cans for the family, my mother took me with her, we stood in the cold for an hour. We warmed ourselves with tea from a thermos and shifted from foot to foot,” Igor said.
50-year-old Igor still remembers the moment of happy possession of eight jars of mayonnaise. On the way back, he already imagined how he would sit down New Year's table, set beautiful salads. For him personally, granny will make funny little people out of mayonnaise and boiled eggs.
Far from the regional centers, things were even worse for mayonnaise. Zinaida Reshetnikova lived during Soviet times in a small village in Siberia and worked in a pharmacy as a pharmacist. According to her, without leaving the village, she could buy mayonnaise once a year.
We agreed with raipo (district consumer society. - Approx. ed.), whose employees were brought a jar each for the New Year as part of food set for the holiday. “We have never seen mayonnaise in the shops of the village,” Zinaida shares her impressions with Life.Several times a year the Reshetnikov family traveled to the regional center. One of the important things was to buy mayonnaise. If they could find it, they took the maximum amount and carefully transported it 200 kilometers away.
Then the presence of mayonnaise on the table meant that there was some kind of holiday in the house. On ordinary days, we dressed our salads with sour cream or butter. There was no question of spreading mayonnaise on the morning sandwich,” Life’s interlocutor shares.
When stores were filled with goods in the 90s, mayonnaise began to be sold freely, and mayonnaise from European manufacturers appeared. Zinaida’s son Nikolai couldn’t tear himself away from the bucket of imported mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise currency
Marina Chumachenko, a 60-year-old resident of St. Petersburg, remembers how, at the age of 10, she ate mayonnaise hidden on the New Year's table.
Mom made a pie with canned fish and left. I sat down to eat and decided to spread mayonnaise on top of the dough. It was delicious, half the jar was gone. I decided to close it and put it in the same corner of the refrigerator, as if “nothing had happened,” she shares her impressions.
The scam came to light on December 31, when my mother was preparing Olivier and it was time to season it. Marina was scolded, threatened with a belt, and put to bed at 10 pm as punishment. The woman still remembers how she cried while shouting “hurray” from the next room.
Not only vodka, but also mayonnaise was a full-fledged currency in the USSR. Larisa Petrova, who lived in Novosibirsk during the Soviet era, sometimes sewed clothes to order. The woman recalls how one of her clients paid her for her blouse with three jars of mayonnaise. Then there was a holiday in the family - in mid-July New Year's salads ate every day.
For colors and analyzes
Not only the product itself, but also the container for it was worth its weight in gold in the USSR. A resident of the city of Pskov, Natalya Ionova, told Life that in the 70s and 80s in the USSR it was difficult to undergo a medical examination without a jar of mayonnaise.
As a citizen told Life former USSR, the jar could also serve as an ashtray, a container for storing food in the refrigerator, a flower vase, and even a glass.They used cans instead of glasses even in street soda fountains. And in the early 1990s, mayonnaise jars were used instead of canteens and cafes. faceted glasses.
The origin of the word mayonnaise in French is unknown. Larousse Gastronomique 1961 is of the opinion that the word comes from the old French "moyeu", which, among other things, meant yolk.
There are other versions of its origin, mostly legendary and based on significant historical events. Here is one of them:
The word “mayonnaise” is of geographical origin and is associated with the name of the city of Mahon, the capital of the Spanish island of Menorca, part of the Balearic Islands. As stated in one of the French encyclopedic dictionaries, Mahon was conquered by the Duke of Richelieu. In 1757, the British besieged this city. The French ran out of food supplies, with the exception of eggs and olive oil. From these products, the cooks prepared scrambled eggs and omelettes, which the French officers were pretty tired of. Duke Richelieu ordered his cook to prepare some new dish. The resourceful cook beat the eggs with butter and seasoned the mixture with salt and spices. The sauce we liked was called “mayonnaise”, in honor of the city of Mahon.
In Menorca itself, mayonnaise is called salsa mahonesa (Mahon sauce).
It is possible that this simple sauce is quite ancient and originated independently in several places around the Mediterranean - where olive oil and eggs are available.
There is another version that mayonnaise originated from ali-oli sauce (garlic ground with olive oil), known since time immemorial.
Industrial mayonnaise
The original mayonnaise recipe is not suitable for long-term storage, in connection with which for industrial production industrial mayonnaise was developed.
Classification
- high calorie ( mass fraction fat from 55%; water less than 35%)
- medium-calorie (mass fraction of fat 40-55%; water 35-50%)
- low-calorie (mass fraction of fat up to 40%; water more than 50%)
Technology
Mayonnaise is an oil-in-water emulsion and was traditionally made using egg lecithin (egg yolk). Later it was almost completely supplanted soy lecithin, and other emulsifiers.
The recognized leader in mayonnaise consumption is the city of Yekaterinburg, which is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.
At first, mayonnaise was classified as a delicacy, a product for the elite of society. But over time, like other inventions of court culinary specialists, mayonnaise was sufficiently democratized and became popular and accessible to all layers of French, and later the entire European society.
When preparing your favorite dishes, choice is very important. After all, from this famous sauce Not only the taste of your favorite food depends, but also the reputation of the hostess!
Nature has endowed France so generously that only true gourmets could come up with a sauce that has become extremely popular and equally appetizing. Centuries-old history mayonnaise originates from the famous Duke of Richelieu. But, as it turned out, the most famous French seasoning was not born from a good life. The Duke had just conquered the town of Mahon, on the Spanish island of Menorca, when the British arrived. And the only food left for the French was eggs and olive oil. In those ancient times, everything tasty was healthy and natural. But even this fact was not encouraging, since everyone was pretty tired of the omelette. There was enough time for experimentation, and the Duke's cook ground the eggs with butter and squeezed out the juice from the lemon, which made the resulting seasoning refined in taste and texture. So Mahon sauce later became mayonnaise.
They also say that the history of mayonnaise is connected with the banal gluttony of the nobility. And the seasoning owes its appearance to a grandiose banquet thrown in Spain, again by a Frenchman, the Duke de Crillon. The appearance of a new sauce on the banquet table in the city of Mahon became a sensation.
In general, the Spaniards have always zealously defended the right to call mayonnaise their sauce and cited as an example the recipe for their hot sauce“ali-oli”, egg-based, vegetable oil and garlic. Therefore, according to proud seniors, the history of mayonnaise begins in Spain.
Other characters in the history of mayonnaise were the legendary cook Carême, his colleague Montagne and the city of Bayonne, which claims the original name of the Bayonnaise sauce. Cooks associate the name of this sauce with the verb manier (to grind) and moyeu (yolk).
But we know for sure that in Tsarist Russia The history of mayonnaise is connected with banal espionage. No matter how the legendary Lucien Olivier guarded his secret, the Russian assistant still stole secret recipe and sold it to competitors. At that time, the Hermitage restaurant, where the French chef was in charge, competed with the no less famous Moscow restaurant. The sauce, however, was renamed “Provencal”, paying tribute to Olivier’s Provencal origin.
And yet, the whole world considers this noble sauce to come from beautiful France. And the velvety taste cannot be compared with any seasoning. This is what it is, mayonnaise! Either in soup, or in salad, or even with a spoon, straight from the package! Tasty!
Mayonnaise - french sauce from olive oil, egg yolk and mustard - has long been present in the diet of people from different countries peace. In Russia, it is generally considered almost the main ingredient of the daily diet, and in the USSR this product was associated exclusively with holidays. New Year's feasts. And all because it was not so easy to get the scarce sauce. But if you succeeded, then it was worth it: the taste of mayonnaise, prepared without “chemicals,” was excellent. 
It is believed that original recipe mayonnaise sauce originally from France. There is another version according to which mayonnaise was invented in the Spanish city of Mahon, which was conquered by the Duke of Richelieu and was under French influence for a long time, and in 1758 came under siege by the British. In conditions of severe food shortages, the cook received the task from Richelieu to diversify the menu and, instead of the omelette that everyone was tired of, he prepared a sauce by mixing eggs with butter and mustard. This is how the sauce turned out, which became a real culinary discovery. 
In the Soviet Union, mayonnaise began to be produced in 1936. Stalin personally was the taster of the first batch, and he gave the go-ahead for mass production of the sauce. Mayonnaise had a rich taste, because it was prepared from natural and healthy products - refined oil, fresh yolks and mustard with vinegar. Seasoned with sugar, salt and spices. Mayonnaise was packaged in 200 g jars, the shelf life of the product did not exceed a month. 
Mayonnaise appeared on the shelves of Soviet stores most often under New Year, queues lined up for it, and people tried to get as much as possible (they often stood in line with the whole family, because they could get several cans in one hand). Residents of remote villages had to transport mayonnaise far away. It was impossible to do without it: after all, it was necessary to put Olivier on the table, herring under a fur coat, stuffed eggs, prunes with nuts and Mimosa salad. 
There was reverence and trembling weakness for mayonnaise. When the Iron Curtain collapsed and the once scarce product appeared in abundance in post-Soviet stores, many people no longer ate it in jars, but in buckets, generously spreading it directly onto bread. True, the taste was no longer the same as it once was in Soviet years, after all modern technologies involve the use of stabilizers, flavor enhancers, starch and other things. To feel classic taste, you will have to prepare the sauce yourself. 
Soviet people valued mayonnaise for both its taste and its usefulness. The mayonnaise jars were not thrown away, but reused. For example, they could easily replace a glass for a water dispenser or be used as a container for storing food in the refrigerator. Another purpose of the jar is to take tests. This is the kind of container that was recommended for use in clinics, so every home always had a few jars in reserve.
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