By itself, the smell and taste of mayonnaise is kind of disgusting, but when placed in between two slices of bread with cold cuts, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes or mixed with potatoes, spices, hard-boiled eggs, and mustard, it tastes pretty good. This Jekyll and Hyde condiment also has a reputation for being a bitch when it comes to healthiness, turning normal healthy sandwiches into tasty pockets for saturated fat. It’s hard to believe something so innocently, virgin off-white, could be a sinfully, slutty evil.
Mayonnaise makers have tried their best to create slightly more wholesome versions of this spreadable cream, but their attempts have pretty much ended up with bland tasting paste that would be better off being used for a mayonnaise bikini than for a sandwich or salad. Enter the Best Foods Mayonnaise with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Nutritionists have told us for years that olive oil is one healthy mofo, providing healthier fats that contain one too many prefixes, like polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. The folks at Best Foods have shoehorned Bertolli’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil into their mayonnaise to go along with the usual soybean oil, eggs, and vinegar. Those ingredients will emulsify into a mayonnaise that has three times less saturated fat and almost half the calories of regular Best Foods Mayonnaise. However, it also has one-third more sodium than the original, but overall it’s healthier thanks to the multi-prefixed fats mentioned earlier.
Messing with a sandwich staple seems sacrilegious, because if you change one thing, it seems to change everything else. The Best Foods Mayonnaise with Extra Virgin Olive Oil smells like regular mayonnaise, but I have to say its flavor kind of threw off my taste buds after I spooned some in my mouth. The olive oil doesn’t overpower it, but there’s just enough to know that there is some in it and there was also a very slight bitter aftertaste to it. After getting the taste of mayonnaise out of my mouth, I realized that most sane people wouldn’t eat mayonnaise with a spoon and I needed to try it in a real world situation, so I slathered a generous glob of it in a turkey sandwich.
With olive oil mayonnaise oozing from under the bread, I consumed the sandwich and determined that it had sort of a muted mayonnaise taste with a hint of olive oil. If you’re trying to eat healthier, it’s indubitably a much better option than any light mayonnaise, but it definitely wasn’t as good as the regular version, making the Best Foods Mayonnaise with Extra Virgin Olive Oil a lot less of a sinfully, slutty evil.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 tbsp – 50 calories, 5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, less than 1 gram of carbs, 0 grams of protein, 1 mayonnaise bikini.)
(Editor’s Note: Thanks to TIB reader Alexander for recommending this product and making me his lab rat.)
Item: Best Foods Mayonnaise with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Price: $6.19
Size: 30 ounces
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: A lot less of a sinfully, slutty evil. Much better tasting than light mayonnaise. Lower in fat than regular mayonnaise. Contains polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Creamy. Like most mayonnaise, it makes a good mayonnaise bikini.
Cons: Muted mayonnaise taste. Hint of olive oil may turn people off. Higher in sodium than regular mayonnaise. Slight bitter aftertaste to it. I paid six dollars for a jar of it. Eating mayonnaise with a spoon straight from the bottle.
wow that is some really expensive mayo. i guess when you live in a rock in the middle of the pacific ocean normal stuff is pricey. but i guess that must mean pineapples are like a dime right?
@Julie L. – The only thing that’s a dime here is 15 minutes with me in a motel room…and you’ll probably want your money back after those 15 minutes are up.
Frack that’s a lot of money for mayo… but not for olive oil, so, who knows.
@Noble Arc, The Lazy Canadian – I know I paid too frakking much for it. When I saw the price at the checkout counter I totally felt motherfrakking screwed.
I make my own mayo out of old motor oil and magpie eggs I find in local trees. I figure I’m reducing, reusing and recycling that way.
Who the f*** is going to pay that much for mayonnaise!!??
Marvo, here is a Wiki article on how to make mayonnaise, but instead of using Vegetable oil, use EVOO (DAMN YOU RACHEL RAY!!!): http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Mayonnaise
Enjoy!
I only paid $3.49 for my 30 ounces of olive oil adulterated mayo here in Dallas. So I get cheap mayo and you get…Hawaii. I don’t think I’ve come out the winner there.
This mayo was fine of on a sandwich, but DO NOT make coleslaw with it. That bitter taste combined with cabbage was just…NO. So gnarly.
I don’t understand the appeal behind using extra virgin olive oil in this instead of regular olive oil. Extra virgin oil has more olive flavor, which people tend to enjoy in cooking…but in mayonnaise? Who wants their mayo tasting like olives? Plus it is rather pricey.
I do confess to buying some chipotle mayo for my own personal use, and paying extra for it. But I did it because I’m a spicy food freak.
I don’t like extra virgin olive oil. I prefer mine extra slutty.
( ps the Kraft kind has less sodium & is pretty good.)
How does it compare to Miracle Whip? That’s my “mayo” of choice. Ok, salad dressing. Ok, gobs of jiggly fat.
I have always been partial to Miracle Whip
Kewpie Mayonnaise is still the undisputed king of mayonnaise. I am sure you can find it in Hawaii with all those Japanese people there.
If you trying to eat healthier and want mayo that still tastes like mayo, try Best Foods/Hellman’s “Mayo with Canola Oil” <—Tastes great and it’s way better for you.
Jeebuz! I’ve saw this mayo going for $3.50 at Walmart and $3.99 at Target.
I’m just waiting for the mayonnaise bikini review. With photos, please.
Enjoyed your blog!
I’m all for the healthier option (in moderation) but not sure if we can get this in Britain. I do however use only extra virgin olive oil, so this one I’ll look out for…thanks
Les
@armauld – I’m surprised that your recipe doesn’t include the bitter tears of a clown.
@edman0037 – It’s expensive here because we have to pay the Hawaii tax, which is paying for the shipping here and the salaries of dockworkers. About the mayonnaise recipe, I watched the episode of Good Eats when Alton explains and makes mayonnaise.
@Laurafizz – When Hawaii sinks into the ocean or gets flooded by a massive tidal wave, you won’t feel the same way.
@Chuck – See, chipotle mayo actually sounds like a good idea because there is nothing wrong with adding a little spice to everything.
@Aimee – I wish I could find the Kraft version, but I ended up with this one.
@Reprobate – I’m probably got it castrated for saying this, but I don’t really like Miracle Whip. I’m going to run away now.
@jujueyeballs – Please see above.
@Jonathan Gill – I have a friend who named her dog Kewpie.
@Nevis – But doesn’t make a good mayonnaise bikini?
@Peachy – Sadly, I’ll our 100 Grand candy bars actually cost 100 grand.
@Eryn – It’s not as sexy as you think because it’s a one piece.
@Les – It’s pretty new here in the United States, so I think it might be awhile before it ends up in Britain.