Small Home Gazette, Spring 2021

History Brief: Bring Out the Best!

Mayonnaise—that thick, creamy spread made of oil, egg yolks, lemon juice or vinegar, and seasonings—has long played a role in our cooking. Invented in 1756 by a French chef, home cooks made it in small batches for years.

The first commercially manufactured mayo was born in a New York City delicatessen in 1905. Richard Hellmann sold his wife’s homemade salads, which used mayo as a dressing, and soon people were asking to buy it on its own.

Concerned with both taste and safety, Hellmann perfected the recipe. He sold the mayo in clear glass jars tied with a blue ribbon, calling it Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise.

In 1912, Hellmann built the first of several factories to produce large quantities to sell to stores and restaurants, and by 1917, he closed his deli to devote his time to the mayonnaise business. Ten years later, Hellmann sold the brand and retired.

A 1926 Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise hangable calendar and recipe book.

The key to the success of Hellmann’s mayo may be that not much has changed in over 100 years. And those deviled eggs you enjoy today were a very popular finger food at a typical 1920s party.