When you’re making a sandwich or looking for a substitute in baking and cooking, you might turn to mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is great as a condiment for sandwiches, for dipping French fries into, and for cold dishes such as pasta salads. And many home cooks swear by mayo when it comes to creating the best grilled cheese sandwiches.
However, you’ve probably also heard about Miracle Whip, which is very similar to mayonnaise — but not identical. So what’s the difference between mayo and Miracle Whip?
Mayo Versus Miracle Whip
Mayonnaise in its most basic form has vegetable oil, eggs, water and lemon juice or vinegar. Other seasonings and additives or preservatives are sometimes included.
Miracle Whip is a mayonnaise-like product first created in 1933 as a cheaper option than mayo. It has the same ingredients as mayonnaise, but it adds a number of others, including sugar, mustard and spices. Miracle Whip is noticeably sweeter and some say tangier than traditional mayonnaise.
In order to be labeled “mayonnaise” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that a product have at least 65% vegetable oil in it by weight. Miracle Whip doesn’t meet this qualification, so it is called a “dressing” by the FDA.
In the contest of mayo versus Miracle Whip, the latter is lower in fat and has fewer calories than mayonnaise. However, Miracle Whip’s higher sugar content (from high fructose corn syrup) doesn’t necessarily make it a “healthier” option.
When To Use Mayo Versus Miracle Whip
Basically, you can use Miracle Whip dressing anywhere you use mayo — on sandwiches, in dips and for recipes. But because of its sweeter and tangier flavor, there are a few recipes in which it might not work as well.
For example, if you’re baking, you may want to stick with mayo because of its full-fat profile. The lower-fat Miracle Whip can separate and become greasy during the heating process, and it may not have the right egg-to-fat proportion for some baking recipes.
There are also recipes that may benefit from Miracle Whip. For example, potato and egg salads get more flavor from a Miracle Whip infusion.
Making Mayo Or Miracle Whip At Home
In both homemade and store-bought mayonnaise, egg yolks are used as the emulsifying agent that holds the entire mixture together. That’s because the yolks contain lecithin, a fat emulsifier. You need an emulsifier to keep the water and oil in mayo combined. The lecithin coats droplets of oil and keeps them from separating out into greasy layers.
America’s Test Kitchen has a recipe for homemade mayo that starts incorporating some of the oil into the rest of the ingredients before combining everything in a food processor. This makes sure the emulsion process works.
Store-bought mayo products last much longer than the homemade kind because of the preservatives put in them. However, one way to extend the life of mayo you make in your own kitchen is to add whey.
If you want to try making Miracle Whip at home, Top Secret Recipes purports to have a recipe that mimics the dressing, as does Beyond the Chicken Coop. These add paprika, dry mustard, salt and sugar (and garlic powder in Top Secret Recipes’ version.)
And if you need ideas for what to make with Miracle Whip, Kraft Heinz has almost 300 recipes for you on its site.
Where Did Miracle Whip Come From?
Miracle Whip came on the market in 1933 during the depths of the depression. Its maker, Kraft, promoted it as a cross between mayonnaise and salad dressing and debuted it at the Century of Progress International Exposition (also known as the Chicago World’s Fair).
Miracle Whip was also considered another take on “boiled salad dressing.” In Britain, a boiled dressing product called Heinz’s Salad Cream rolled out in 1914 — well before Miracle Whip’s debut.
Miracle Whip took its name from the emulsifying machine that whipped ingredients together. This machine helped create Miracle Whip’s creamy consistency, too.
Still, the mayo versus Miracle Whip debate rages among people who have a strong preference or dislike for one or the other. Often, what you were raised eating is what you prefer.
Whichever is your pick, now you know a little more about the differences between both.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.
Mayonnaise is made of oil, eggs, and vinegar (or lemon juice). Miracle Whip has the same basic ingredients but with less oil, and the addition of water, sugar, and spices like mustard, paprika, and garlic. Even with these additions, Miracle Whip has almost half the calories of mayo and half the fat.
Miracle Whip is a mayonnaise-like product first created in 1933 as a cheaper option than mayo. It has the same ingredients as mayonnaise, but it adds a number of others, including sugar, mustard and spices. Miracle Whip is noticeably sweeter and some say tangier than traditional mayonnaise.
The added sugar in Miracle Whip makes it perfect for recipes that benefit from sweet notes, like Amish macaroni salad or a sweet and tangy cucumber salad.
The original Miracle Whip is produced using less oil compared to traditional mayonnaise, thus has around half of the calories. Due to added corn syrup it is also sweeter compared to mayonnaise.
Hellmann's Cholesterol Free Canola Oil Mayonnaise Dressing has the same authentic Hellmann's taste without cholesterol! Perfect for cholesterol-free dishes!
When looking for a healthy version of mayo, you want to find one that has a cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oil, such as expeller-pressed safflower oil or cold-pressed avocado oil. Cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils were made with the least amount of processing, meaning the oil was pressed out of the plant.
Products referred to as "salad dressings" like Miracle Whip, or other specialty versions like the Japanese Kewpie brand, all say to store in the fridge after opening. Always follow package directions when it comes to food storage.
Consuming mayonnaise in excess can increase the risk of heart disease. About 1.6 grams of saturated fat is found in one tablespoon of mayonnaise. In this case, if you eat more mayonnaise, it can increase cholesterol. High cholesterol in the body increases the risk of heart disease.
What Is Miracle Whip? Launched in 1933 at the World's Fair in Chicago, Miracle Whip was lauded as a cheaper alternative to mayonnaise during the Depression. Miracle Whip is made with eggs, oil, vinegar, spices, sugar, and water.
While not technically mayo, according to the FDA, Kraft Miracle Whip is one of the most popular condiments in the US and is frequently used in potato salad, coleslaw, deviled eggs, and even the more refined Waldorf salad.
The sugar used to make Miracle Whip accounts for why it tastes noticeably sweeter than regular mayonnaise. Some store-bought mayonnaise, such as Hellmann's, contains sugar in its ingredient list, but not enough to detect a sweet taste like Miracle Whip. Other brands like Duke's do not have any added sugar.
Miracle Whip is a lower-fat, lower-calorie alternative to mayonnaise. However, it contains some refined ingredients, such as high-fructose corn syrup and soybean oil, which have been linked to several health issues. Try to find mayo that's made with healthy oils, such as olive or avocado oil, or make your own at home.
Miracle Whip is healthier than Mayo because it is not made in oil. It consists of fewer fats and calories compared to mayo and it's used for dressing salads to add a tangy flavor. Can I substitute Mayonnaise with a Miracle Whip®? It depends on the kind of flavor you prefer.
Edwards notes that while you can "almost always" use mayonnaise and Miracle Whip interchangeably, you might notice a difference in flavor of the finished product. “Baking is the one exception where you should opt for mayonnaise rather than Miracle Whip, as the full-fat content is needed there,” Edwards says.
The sugar used to make Miracle Whip accounts for why it tastes noticeably sweeter than regular mayonnaise. Some store-bought mayonnaise, such as Hellmann's, contains sugar in its ingredient list, but not enough to detect a sweet taste like Miracle Whip. Other brands like Duke's do not have any added sugar.
More viscous or fluid products may cause a more 'wet' tuna salad.” Less popular for tuna salad among our experts but still mayo MVPs, Kewpie and Miracle Whip both have distinct flavors that don't work as well with tuna, one more savory (Kewpie) and one sweeter (Miracle Whip).
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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