Miracle Whip

The other day my lovely wife-of-many-talents made me a batch of my mother's recipe for truly wonderful potato salad.  It has several differentiations from what one gets at the deli:  the potatos are cut in 1/2" or smaller cubes; it contains sliced stuffed olives and caraway seeds; the recipe specifies Miracle Whip instead of mayo.  It truly is OMG good and I think the Miracle Whip has a lot to do with that.
 
I like Miracle Whip, but not quite as much as these people:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqXoFHZW_J4  (warning, at the end there is the "bad word" used famously by both the present and former Vice President!)  But, I do prefer it to Mayo on cold sandwiches, but not burgers.
 
Here is a brief history cadged from Wikipedia: 
"In 1933, Kraft was a well-established distributor of mayonnaise, yet sales were slipping as a result of the Great Depression. Kraft developed a new dressing similar to mayonnaise, but at a lower price. Premiering at the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago in 1933, Miracle Whip was an instant success as a condiment on fruits, vegetables and salads.  According to Kraft archivist Becky Haglund Tousey, Kraft developed the product in-house using a patented "emulsifying machine" (invented by Charles Chapman) to create a product blending mayonnaise products and less expensive salad dressing. The machine (dubbed "Miracle Whip" by Chapman) ensured that the ingredients (including more than 20 different spices) could be thoroughly blended".
 
And, from Kraft's label, here are the Ingredients:  Water, Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Sugar, Modified Cornstarch, Eggs; Contains less than 2% of Salt, Mustard Flous, Paprika, Spice, Natural Flavor, Potassium Sorbate as a preservative, Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk, Dried Garlic.
 
I guess the "miracle" is that Kraft's "process" (and chilling) makes those otherwise unappetizing ingredients taste so  "&*$%-in" GOOD!
 
What do my fellow Roadfooders think?
 

I also like Miracle Whip.  When I was young the only way I would eat broccoli was if I had a small bowl of MW for dunking.
 
But I like mayonnaise, too...
 
Brad

Unfortunately, they've tampered with the product in the last several years and it no longer tastes as it did.  My dad lives with us and in his 80's. I usually let him have something once a month or so that he wants but shouldn't have as a treat. He asked me to make him his favorite Potato and Maccaroni salad that I hadn't made for quite a few years for him. Something right away didn't taste right with the sauce and I never remembered this husky taste. It's the same sauce for both and it's about 50/50 MW to Mayo. He right away noticed the taste too and accused me of being cheap and using store brand mayo and salad dressing. I checked online and sure enough, there were was discussions on how it's changed with water now as the first listed primary ingredient. At the time, Kraft was smart enough to keep the original formula still available only in foodservice gallons. I don't know if that's still the case. I've used Dukes and Gordon Foodservice salad dressing since primarly for cole slaw. They too have changed their formulation, but it doesn't taste nowhere near as bad or have that strong taste. 

mw should be outlawed

Only Hellmann's mayonnaise will cross my lips.

My Bride won't eat Mayo, except in HER Potato Salad. I don't care for Miracle Whip. You'll find both in our fridge!

Get real guys. Mayo itself was an inexpensive substitute to cream reductions just as MW/Salad Dressing had become an inexpensive sandwich spread to mayo. Both have their place and use in recipes that neither can fill by itself. Anyone with culinary knowledge will recognize that combinations of both mixed together or with the further addition of sour cream as complexes are the synergistic base of many commercially successful deli and QSR salads and sauces. MW had the additional benefit of keeping longer and not turning dark or developing a crust like mayo. The stuff has changed though. Oil was the predominant ingredient, now it's water since around 2000 and engineered starches now replace much of the egg yolk and arrowroot starch it once had. Love it or hate it, if you eat in a restaurant and loathe the stuff, like MSG, you're probably eating a lot more of it then you think without even noticing.

Dawn, do you know of any recipes that accurately recreate 'original' MW?
 
Brad

ON Youtube, there are a bunch of videos on making homemade mayonnaise in a plastic quart container with a blending stick. Alton Brown (for what it's worth) says that your chances of getting salmonella are miniscule, and if your immune system is OK, the worst you will get a is a stomachache. And, frankly, the homemade tastes better than any commercial product (but, given that, I usually have Helmann's). 
 
But, be that as it may, there are certain things Miracle Whip is good for. Notably, a great horseradish sauce can be made by just mixing horseradish and MW.
 
Bart
 

I only will tolerate Miracle Whip when it is used in the old fashioned macaroni/pea salad. Thats just my taste. I grew up with Hellmans( Never turned dark or had a "crust") And the only reason any type of mayo based product takes on any of the characteristics Dawn describes is if you dip a spoon or utensil in it that hasnt been cleaned off prior to use. I have over 30 years of culinary experience, and I have yet to use Miracle Whip in ANY of my salads. Might be a regional thing. I have found Dukes mayo to be the best to date, and have to have it shipped to me from my cousin in North Carolina, for my personal use.

Miracle Whip is a horrible product and is one of my 13 food commandments...Russ
 
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/My-13-Commandments-of-Food-Do-you-Agree-m352254.aspx

I've never been able to handle the taste of Miracle Whip, but it certainly has its fans.  My mother loved it.  I also switched from Hellmann's to JFG and Duke's when water became ingredient #2 behind soybean oil. 

Caines mayonnaise (NOT the light) is #1 here, followed by either Duke or JFG.  Never did understand the appeal for Hellmans nor the Miracle Whip.  
 
I once had a reportedly home-made mayonnaise on a sandwich while in Philadelphia years ago that was simply outstanding. 

They sell JFG in RI?

By the way, Naturally Delicious Mayonnaise by Cains really rocks, too!

Growing up, it was Hellman's in the house. It was what Mom always preferred. I hated it. Never liked the texture or taste. Then somehow MiracleWhip made it into the house and I really liked it. It had a smooth texture and a tangy taste.
Years later while deployed in the desert, one of the guys had Dukes mayo sent to him and I was hooked. It is now the preferred mayo of choice in my household.

Ugh , restaurants are using MW in place of mayo?  Since I hate MW, no wonder I cant stand mayo when I go out, it often tastes funny and I just make sure not to order anything with mayo.

Had a BLT for dinner tonight.
Ran out of Mayo.
Used my Brides MW.
Screwed up a good sandwich!

I always have both on hand, just depends on the mood at the time.

Foodbme


Had a BLT for dinner tonight.
Ran out of Mayo.
Used my Brides MW.
Screwed up a good sandwich!

YIKES what a shame to do that to bacon!
I think I am also done with the Hellman's canola mayo.  it is no cholesterol and supposedly healthier but it has an off taste.  Probably back to Dukes for me.

I like Miracle Whip and the wife likes Hellmans. Go figure.

DUKES !!!! is the only way to go :)
MW should as said before be outlawed...that stuff is just nasty...yuck!
 
and yes, as said before, please dont ever double dip a spoon into anything, especially mayo/yogurt sort of things!! 

gotta love the miracle whip ad campaigns.  http://blogs.forbes.com/elainewong/2011/02/22/kraft-shows-polarizing-side-of-miracle-whip-in-new-campaign/

I grew up eating MW on Lebanon Bologna sandwiches, topped off with a hand full of BBQ Hartley's Potato Chips, smash the whole thing together and dive in....I can't stand the smell or the taste of MW these days.
 
I'm a Duke's or a Hellman's guy so far as mayo goes....

I've eaten bologna & potato chip sandwiches since I was a kid and am amazed other people have done the same.  I thought I was the only one.

MellowRoast


I've eaten bologna & potato chip sandwiches since I was a kid and am amazed other people have done the same.  I though I was the only one.

 
I like mine with tomato and MW.