Mayonnaise alternative Miracle Whip's journey went from a Chicago World's Fair debut to a role in a Lady Gaga music video with many exciting stops in between.
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It's creamy. It's white. It's slathered all over your turkey sandwich. It's ... not mayonnaise. No, today we're talking about mayonnaise's sweeter, spicier, and all-American little sibling: Miracle Whip. You can make mayonnaise at home, but Kraft needed a special machine (called, not coincidentally, a Miracle Whip) to develop the emulsified, fluffy "salad dressing" loved by millions of Americans (and probably loathed by just as many). Miracle Whip is a product of America's love affair with industrialized food in the 20th century, much like Jell-O salads and Kraft macaroni & cheese.
Miracle Whip's journey has taken it from the Chicago World's Fair to the fridges of Depression-era America to a co-starring role in a Lady Gaga music video. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but you certainly couldn't accuse it of being boring. Whether you like Miracle Whip's distinctive taste or prefer the comforting creaminess of mayonnaise (or like both in different contexts) this spread's story is one worth telling.
It debuted at the 1933 World's Fair
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The Untold Truth Of Miracle Whip
According to Kraft's official history, Miracle Whip's first public appearance was at the 1933 World's Fair. Per Dining Chicago, that fair was dubbed the Century of Progress Exposition. Held in Chicago's Northerly Island, the Exposition was meant to showcase the wondrous products and innovations American industry was able to create (via Encyclopedia of Chicago). Its other purpose was to distract Americans from the hardships of the Great Depression and show that there were still positive developments happening in the world. Kraft's futuristic, industrially-made mayonnaise replacement would have fit right in with the consumer paradise the Exposition was selling to the public.
There is an alternate history of Miracle Whip as well. According to Salem, Illinois' website, Kraft actually bought the recipe for the dressing from the Salem restaurant Max Crossett's Cafe in 1931. Dining Chicago clarifies that this origin story is just a myth and that Kraft developed Miracle Whip in-house. There is a nugget of truth to the story, however: When Kraft decided to develop a jarred mayonnaise, the company bought several recipes from smaller businesses in order to perfect its own product.
Miracle Whip was a surprising hit during the Great Depression
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Kraft actually started making mayonnaise before it developed Miracle Whip. The company's mayonnaise business dates back to 1926 (via Grog to Grits). While mayonnaise did well for Kraft at first, the onset of the Great Depression tanked the condiment's sales. With households looking to save money wherever possible, many people realized it was cheaper to just make mayo at home instead of buying the jarred stuff.
The sudden drop in mayo sales inspired Kraft to come up with a product that was mayo-like that the company could sell at a higher profit margin. According to Dining Chicago, a Kraft employee named Charles Chapman invented a machine that could emulsify different ingredients together into a creamy mixture. This machine, which Kraft displayed at the Century of Progress Exposition alongside its new mayo substitute, was called the Miracle Whip, which is how the spread got its name. Kraft's mayonnaise alternative was an instant success, becoming the nation's best-selling salad dressing within half a year of its debut (yes, it was marketed as a salad dressing).
It's a riff on boiled salad dressing
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Although Miracle Whip was in some ways an innovative product at the time it was released, it was also based on a very old-fashioned food. Miracle Whip is basically a blend of mayonnaise and boiled salad dressing (via Dining Chicago). Although you don't see homemade boiled dressing on many dinner tables these days, it used to be a household staple. According to Cook's Info, in the days before mass-produced vegetable oil (a necessary ingredient for making mayonnaise) or jarred mayonnaise was widely available, boiled dressing was the easiest, most cost-effective way for cooks to make a creamy, mayo-like sauce at home.
Although there are many variations on boiled dressing, it always starts with a base of eggs and vinegar emulsified with some kind of liquid — generally water, milk, or cream. This mixture is seasoned with sugar, salt, and spices, then cooked until thick. Often, a little starch is added as well to thicken the mixture even more and stabilize the emulsion.
Miracle Whip is not mayonnaise
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Miracle Whip contains many of the same ingredients as mayonnaise, like eggs, oil, and vinegar, but it cannot legally be sold as mayo in the U.S. The main difference between Miracle Whip and mayonnaise comes down to the amount of oil that is used. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandates that mayonnaise must be at least 65% oil. Miracle Whip falls below that threshold, which is why it's labeled as dressing instead of mayo.
Although it can't legally be called mayonnaise, Miracle Whip can be used in pretty much any context you would use mayonnaise in, from spreading on sandwiches to dressing potato salad. However, dishes made with Miracle Whip will not taste the same as if you made them with mayo. Miracle Whip has a distinctively tangy flavor with more sweetness than traditional mayo, and that taste will come through in your recipes. It's also more assertively seasoned with spices, so its flavor is less neutral than that of traditional mayonnaise.
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The Untold Truth Of Miracle Whip
Miracle Whip may be sweet, but it's not really dessert-level sweet. It still definitely tastes like something you'd want in a creamy salad or on a sandwich rather than something you'd add to a dessert. Despite this fact, creative home cooks have found a way to put Miracle Whip in places you'd never expect. One example is this recipe for Miracle Whip chocolate cake written by a homemaker living in Texas sometime in the mid-20th century (via Texas Hill Country). The instructions say to beat the Miracle Whip and sugar together to start the batter, with the Miracle Whip taking the place of a more traditional fat source like butter or oil.
We would guess that Miracle Whip cake is an offshoot of mayonnaise chocolate cake, a World War II-era invention that allowed cooks to make dessert during a time when fresh ingredients may have been hard to come by. The Texas Hill Country Miracle Whip chocolate cake recipe appears to come from this tradition, as it requires no butter or eggs.
Miracle Whip has a British cousin
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America doesn't have a monopoly on packaged mayo-like salad dressings. According to Cook's Info, the U.K. is mad about salad cream, a bottled boiled dressing. Salad cream actually predates Miracle Whip by a couple of decades. Per The Guardian, Heinz released the product in 1914 after a long period of research and experimentation. It was Heinz's first U.K.-exclusive food.
Salad cream became solidified as a major component of the British diet during World War II when ketchup was scarce. It helped make dull meals cooked with rationed ingredients taste a little bit more interesting. However, in more recent times, real mayonnaise has become more popular in Britain. Heinz was actually considering ending salad cream production in 2000, but public outcry caused the company to reverse its decision. Heinz also stoked consumer outrage when it tried to rename salad cream to sandwich cream in 2018. After the vast majority of customers opposed the change, Heinz decided to stick with the salad cream name (via the Daily Mail).
Much like Miracle Whip, salad cream is tangier and lower in fat than mayonnaise, with more vinegar and less oil and egg.
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The Untold Truth Of Miracle Whip
There's more at the link but I lost interest.