Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise, often called "mayo," is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich, tangy flavor. It’s a staple on sandwiches, hamburgers, bound salads, and French fries, and serves as the foundation for sauces like tartar sauce, fry sauce, remoulade, salsa golf, ranch dressing, and rouille. The sauce is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and an acid—typically vinegar or lemon juice—with many variations adding extra flavorings. Its color ranges from near-white to pale yellow, and its texture can be as light as cream or as thick as a gel. Eggless commercial versions are available for those avoiding eggs.

The history of mayonnaise is tied to French cuisine, with the name first appearing in 1806. Theories about its origins are numerous and contradictory, though most agree on a geographic starting point: Mahón, in Menorca, Spain, during the French occupation in the Seven Years’ War. Other theories, dismissed by some as retrospective inventions, try to credit southwestern France, but the likely origin is the Menorcan port city. Mayonnaise may stem from ancient remoulade, or from aioli. The technique of emulsifying egg yolk was long known to pharmacists for making ointments. Some argue a Spanish origin makes sense given the need for olive oil, a local staple, similar to arguments about French fries.

In 1750, Valencian friar Francesc Roger Gomila published a recipe for a sauce like mayonnaise in *Art de la Cuina*, calling it *aioli bo*. He didn’t detail the recipe, suggesting it was common knowledge on the island, but its uses and pairings differ from aioli. Earlier emulsified sauces, often with garlic, appear in Spanish cookbooks as far back as the 14th-century *Llibre de Sent Soví*, where it’s called *all-i-oli* (garlic and oil). This sauce spread through the Crown of Aragon, with Juan de Altamiras including a recipe in his 1745 *Nuevo Arte de Cocinar*.

On April 18, 1756, the Duke of Richelieu invaded Menorca and took the port of Mahón. One theory holds that the *aioli bo* sauce was adopted by the Duke’s cook, who made it famous in the French court as *mahonnaise*. Legends arose about the Duke first trying the sauce, including a story of him asking an innkeeper for dinner during the siege, or even inventing it himself as a quick garnish. Another version comes from Grimod de La Reynière’s 1808 *bayonnaise* sauce, described as a sort of aspic for cold chicken. In 1806, André Viard, in *Le Cuisinier Impérial*, transformed a remoulade recipe by replacing roux with egg yolk, and in another recipe specified adding oil slowly for binding—the first modern mention of a stable cold emulsified sauce. In 1815, Antonin Carême mentioned a cold “magnonaise” emulsified with egg yolk. The word “mayonnaise” is attested in English in 1815, and Auguste Escoffier later called it a French mother sauce of cold sauces.

The etymology is debated. A common theory names it after Mahón (Maó in Catalan), named for founder Mago Barca, honoring the Duke of Richelieu’s 1756 victory, with *mahonnaise* used by some authors—though the name appears only decades later. One version claims it was *salsa mahonesa* in Spanish, but that spelling is also later. Grimod de La Reynière rejected *mayonnaise* as “not French” and *mahonnaise* because Mahón “is not known for good food,” preferring *bayonnaise* after Bayonne, known for its hams. This form might be supported by no written record of *sauce à la mayonnaise* before the 19th century, long after the capture of Mahón. Another hypothesis, from Carême, derives it from *magnonaise* (from *magner* or *manier*), or from Prosper Montagné’s *moyeunaise* (from *moyeu*, meaning egg yolk in Old French). It may also link to the old verb *mailler*, meaning “to beat.” Joseph Favre claimed *mayonnaise* is an alteration of *magnonnaise*, from Magnon (Lot-et-Garonne), where a cook popularized it in southern France.