Deep Dive: Duke's Mayonnaise

Okay, it's a condiment and not a snack, but you can use it to make snacks (or meals)

Duke’s Mayo: It’s Got Twang!

I wasn’t familiar with Duke’s before I knew my husband, a bonafide Duke’s connoisseur who spent many of his formative years in Florida (whether or not that is “the South” is a debate in and of itself. We won’t get into that here, but I will say that I am a big fan of the Publix grocery stores one can find in that state). He is so known for his love of Duke’s that friends and family who are visiting from the South bring him Duke’s mayo; I even bought him a Duke’s mayo baseball cap. He is also known to order Duke’s mayo online in fairly large quantities. Suffice to say our household is never without Duke’s Mayonnaise.

Duke’s is easily found in a lot of supermarkets in the South, but where I live (New York), it’s not that easy to find (although, fortunately, we’ve recently spotted it at a nearby Wegman’s - another grocery store I love).

The Duke’s tagline is “It’s got twang!” And it does.

According to Southern Living magazine,

“Duke’s contains a higher ratio of egg yolks than most other commercial mayos, which makes it rich, creamy, and less likely to separate when heated. There's a wisp of tang from vinegar and a touch of paprika. Its texture is thicker and almost custard-like instead of simply slick or gelatinous. All of this makes Duke's look and taste more like homemade mayonnaise, a wonderful thing that is quite tedious to perfect.”

Duke’s doesn’t have sugar in it - a rarity among commercial mayonnaise and condiments in general (supposedly, the Duke’s recipe doesn’t have sugar in it because when it was developed, there were wartime sugar shortages). The ingredients in Duke’s mayo are: Soybean oil, eggs, water, distilled and cider vinegar, salt, oleoresin paprika, natural flavors, calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor.

Duke’s roots are in Greenville, South Carolina. Duke’s is “made with Eugenia Duke’s original recipe since 1917” when, according to Duke’s lore, Eugenia began her mayonnaise odyssey:

“It was at Camp Sevier in 1917 that the Duke’s Mayonnaise legacy began. Eugenia Duke of Greenville, SC, made sandwiches in her home kitchen to sell to army canteens during WWI.  Eugenia’s sandwiches (and the mayo that gave them their special flavor) were so unforgettably delicious that years after they’d left the camp, soldiers wrote to Eugenia begging for her sandwich recipes and jars of her delectable spread.  She began bottling it as a product on its own in 1923.”

I think Duke’s does indeed have a wonderful consistency and a tangy flavor that isn’t found in Hellman’s or other commercially available mayos. And although Duke’s has several other mayonnaise varieties (including light mayo, hint of lime mayo, bacon & tomato flavored mayo, habanero garlic flavored mayo, cucumber dill flavored mayo, and fire roasted red pepper flavored mayo), we’re Duke’s purists in this household and stick to the original Duke’s.

I like Duke’s on sandwiches - and when making homemade potato or pasta salads, tuna salad, and egg salads. I must say, I’ve become hooked on Duke’s now. When I try other mayonnaise brands, I’m inevitably disappointed. And although it may be tempting to use a “light” mayo for many recipes, I find that a lot of light mayonnaises just have more sugar and a consistency that is less than great. So in general, I like to use regular mayo, but use a very light hand with it. I think most deli counter/restaurant potato salads, egg salads, tuna salads, and pasta salads have waaaaaaay too much mayo in them.

Duke’s, by the way, has an absolutely incredible line of merch - including a bunch of “hot tomato summer” themed merchandise.

Have you tried Duke’s Mayonnaise? And if so, do you live in the South?

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