Why Duke's Mayonnaise Is Creamier Than Other Brands On Store Shelves - Tasting Table

"Grocery-store mayonnaise isn't a product most people would consider glamorous. But something about Duke's is just different. It's been around for over a century and is the third-largest mayonnaise company in the world - just behind Hellmann's and Miracle Whip - but it still feels like a secret ingredient to chefs and home sandwich makers alike. Its notoriety used to be somewhat contained in the South, as the company started and still bases its manufacturing in South Carolina."

"Its draw is simple: it's super-savory taste (Duke's tagline is "It's got twang!"), and its fantastically creamy, thick texture. That rich creaminess comes from their use of one of mayo's key ingredients: egg yolks. Specifically, according to the company, they use only yolks and leave out the egg whites. Skipping the whites drops the water content and keeps Duke's mayonnaise velvety smooth. Many would claim it's so good, you don't need to doctor it up with other ingredients."

"Recipes for basic mayonnaise vary slightly, though the key components are the same: fat (oil), acid (usually vinegar), and an emulsifier (egg). Emulsifiers are ingredients that allow fat and acid to coexist without separating. Mayo is essentially a stable emulsion of oil and acid, and that stable emulsion is created by a substance found inside eggs called lecithin. So Duke's use of eggs is not unusual in and of itself."

Duke's mayonnaise is a century-old Southern brand that grew into the world's third-largest mayonnaise company. The product is prized for its super-savory 'twang' and exceptionally creamy, thick texture. That creaminess results from using only egg yolks and omitting egg whites, which lowers water content and produces a velvety emulsion. Mayonnaise consists of oil, acid, and an emulsifier; lecithin in egg yolks stabilizes the oil-vinegar emulsion. Egg whites are mainly water, while yolks concentrate fat and lecithin, adding richness and binding power that turns oil and vinegar into a thick, creamy spread.

Read at Tasting Table