This is probably the best mayonnaise in the world – you can find it in Athens

It’s hard to understand anyone who doesn’t appreciate the delights of ice cream, chocolate, pasta, or mayonnaise. Today, we’ll focus on the last item on that list. Try having a spoonful of mayonnaise after a night of drinks, and it might just seem like the best thing ever invented. Its perfect pairing with French fries (and fried chicken) is a well-known fact, and it’s a crucial ingredient in a proper ‘dirty’ dish. And let’s be honest, when we’re choosing a salad from a menu, our eyes often wander to the one with mayonnaise first, even if we’re trying to keep our meal light.

Speaking of “dirty” dishes, at the Syngrou cantina, home of the self-proclaimed best hot dog in Athens, they slather it on generously. You’ll love it. Meanwhile, at Vassilis’ cantina on Chamosterna, they use an incredible and surprisingly cheap homemade mayonnaise. However, the origins of mayonnaise go beyond our Athenian borders, all the way back to the mid-18th century, when it was gifted to us by the French. Most historians agree on this timeline, with some tracing its earliest forms back to the Egyptians and Romans, who used a mix of olive oil and egg as a dietary supplement. The modern form of mayonnaise, however, is attributed to French chefs who combined a fatty substance with eggs, vinegar, lemon, salt, and pepper to create this thick, addictive sauce.

Kewpie mayonnaise also includes MSG, or monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer naturally found in tomatoes, cheese, seaweed, and fermented foods. This ingredient gives foods an irresistible edge, known as the fifth flavor, or umami.

According to culinary historians, the first batch of mayonnaise was whipped up by a French chef in 1756 during a celebration of the capture of the port of Maon, located on the island of Minorca in Spain. Back then, sauces were typically made by mixing cream and eggs. The French chef, needing cream for a sauce but finding none, substituted olive oil. While this is the most widely accepted theory about the origins of modern mayonnaise, the Spanish also lay claim to its invention, with an alternative version of the story suggesting that the French chef learned the recipe from the locals of Minorca.

So, the French may have invented it, but did the Japanese perfect it? In the 1910s, Kewpie’s founder, Toichiro Nakashima, traveled to the United Kingdom and the United States as an intern for the Ministry of Agriculture and Trade.

Toichiro Nakashima was captivated by the use of mayonnaise in potato salad during his visit to Japan. This fascination led him to launch his own brand of the condiment in 1925, with the intention of creating a more robust version. As the company narrates, Nakashima named his nutritious creation ‘Kewpie Mayonnaise’ with the aim of enhancing the health of the Japanese people. Kewpie, Japan’s first homegrown mayonnaise, distinguished itself by using twice as much egg yolk compared to the imported varieties of the era.

In recent years, Kewpie has gained significant popularity in the US, largely due to a viral TikTok video by Emily Mariko. In the video, Mariko prepares a salmon rice bowl using leftover rice and an ice cube, with Kewpie as a key ingredient. This led to rave reviews from culinary editors across major international media outlets, with Kewpie even clinching first place in a blind tasting among nineteen other mayonnaise brands. Its unique taste and texture have also won over professional chefs, who typically prefer making their own condiments. But what sets Kewpie apart as the “crème de la crème” of mayonnaise?

@emilymariko. ♬ original sound – Emily Mariko

Unlike typical American mayonnaise that uses whole eggs, Kewpie is made exclusively with yolks – four of them in every 500-gram bottle. This results in a creamier texture and a distinctive salty taste, leaving a richer, more indulgent aftertaste. To offset its richness, Kewpie uses a blend of vinegars – including rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and distilled vinegar – instead of relying solely on the intense, acidic distilled vinegar used by most American brands. This blend adds complexity, flavor, and natural sweetness to the mayonnaise.

Kewpie contains no added sugar, and the combination of vinegar and salt gives it a fresh taste without the need for chemical preservatives. The bottle’s design also helps to keep oxygen out, thereby extending its shelf life. A noteworthy ingredient in Kewpie’s recipe is monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer naturally found in tomatoes, cheese, seaweed, and fermented foods. MSG imparts an irresistible umami flavor, giving Kewpie a distinct edge over its American counterparts. Kewpie mayonnaise, produced in the United States since 2017, is seasoned with yeast extract instead of MSG and contains sugar. In contrast, bottles of Kewpie imported from Japan offer a distinct flavor.

Kewpie mayonnaise can be found in Athens here.

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