Store-bought mayonnaise is a polarizing food. Folks in the Southern states will swear by their Duke's Mayo as a matter of civic pride, while many Midwesterners would never be caught without their blue-lidded jar of Hellman's. There is even the smaller but no less vocal Miracle Whip contingent, the eggless mayo lovers, and various other smaller regional spreads that get mad love.
For chefs or passionate home cooks, making your own has long been the preferred way to mayo. A quick blender mayo is easy to make and endlessly customizable, from garlicky aïolis to luxurious truffled versions, and everything in between. But there is one store-bought mayo that nearly every professional chef and in-the-know food lover keeps in their chill chest: Kewpie. This Japanese brand has long been the secret weapon of the mayonnaise arsenal for those in the know. But what makes it so special?
For starters, Kewpie mayonnaise — which is made with egg yolks and not whole eggs — has a richer, more velvety texture than regular store-bought mayo. It is not surprising, since they use a high proportion of yolks, which give it an egg-forward flavor. Most home recipes for mayonnaise also begin with just yolks, so this makes Kewpie feels a bit more special. And, it never has that weirdly clumpy or curdled look that you can get from other jarred mayos, making it easy to use as a garnish or condiment straight from the bottle, enhanced by the squeeze lid that gives you perfect thin squiggles on top of your dishes.
Kewpie is made of egg yolks, canola oil, salt, vinegar, and seasonings. This small ingredient list keeps the flavor pure. Unlike most store-bought mayonnaise, there is no sugar in the product; any sweetness comes naturally from the egg yolks and the blend of vinegars, rice, apple cider, red wine, and distilled, which provide both acid and a hint of sweetness that is missing from American mayos that use sugar and white distilled vinegar in their mix. There are no extra additives or preservatives, but the distinctive squeeze bottle helps keep air out, so Kewpie has a long shelf-life in your refrigerator once opened.
Kewpie has MSG — and that's a very good thing.
MSG is the singular difference between Kewpie and American brands, and chefs are here for it. Despite what you might have been led to believe, MSG is a totally naturally occurring salt that is not a horrible chemical and is not going to make you feel sick. The claims that it can give you headaches or gastric distress have long been disproven. MSG is naturally present in ingredients like tomatoes, cheese, edible seaweed, and fermented foods, and is a big part of why they are all so delicious. It is also a part of why Kewpie has that "it factor" that chefs love. MSG brings umami, that fabulous savory fifth taste, to the mayo party in a way that no other store-bought mayonnaise can touch. It is why you will see chefs like Stephanie Izard unapologetically squirting it over her dishes at her award-winning restaurants and on her cooking at home social media videos. David Chang could probably do a TED talk on the stuff. The flavor boost provided by the MSG in Kewpie is that little something extra it brings to the flavor party.
The Secret to the Creamiest Mashed Potatoes Is… Mayonnaise
Try it for yourself. Squeeze a bit on top of your next grain bowl, poke bowl, or tomato salad for an extra-creamy flavorful garnish. Spread it on the outside of your bread for a grilled cheese that is all kinds of next-level. Your potato salad and tuna salad will thank you for sure, and nothing is better on a burger. And as a dip for fries or tots? You will never go back to ketchup.
Make sure you're getting Japanese Kewpie.
You can source Kewpie at more and more local and chain markets all the time, or buy directly online from their official online store. Please note, Kewpie made for the Japanese market is what you want to buy. They do make a product for the U.S., for which they swapped out the MSG for yeast extract. It's perfectly good, but not quite the same. Get the real deal and get ready to join the Kewpie nation. You don't have to give up your old mayo, but give yourself the option to love two at once.
The Kewpie is smoother, and slightly yellower than standard-issue Hellman's. That's because the Japanese stuff only uses egg yolks — Hellman's adds some whole eggs to its mix — which means it's slightly looser and closer in look and feel to homemade mayo.
American-made mayo has a slight edge when comparing nutrition labels. Because Kewpie contains only egg yolks, its cholesterol level is higher than American-made mayo that uses the whole egg, like Hellman's. Kewpie has 25 grams of cholesterol per tablespoon, compared to 5 grams in Hellman's.
Japanese-style mayo (like Kewpie) is sweeter and a little bit richer than American mayo, because its ingredients differ slightly. Kewpie contains only egg yolks instead of whole eggs, rice vinegar rather than white vinegar, and notably, contains MSG.
Yes, we suggest refrigerating them after opening. When did Kewpie launch its award winning Deep Roasted Sesame Dressings & Marinade? In 2000, the flavorful, bold, and rich Deep Roasted Sesame Dressing & Marinade was launched and won an award in 2016.
And, it never has that weirdly clumpy or curdled look that you can get from other jarred mayos, making it easy to use as a garnish or condiment straight from the bottle, enhanced by the squeeze lid that gives you perfect thin squiggles on top of your dishes.
The egginess is certainly stronger because of the yolk content, but it isn't overpowering. There's no added sugar, so it doesn't have that cloying sweetness of a Miracle Whip." Its flavor is described as more "assertive" than common American brands.
It is suggested by the brand to keep opened Kewpie Mayonnaise refrigerated to prevent the condiment from going bad quicker than it should. It stays good for about a month to two in the refrigerator once opened. In general, Kewpie Mayo will last a year unopened if stored in a cool and dark place like a pantry.
KEWPIE Mayonnaise is packed in a bottle designed to shut the oxygen out. Oxidization of oil from exposure to oxygen is the enemy of great flavor. Kewpie Mayonnaise 500g (Product of Japan) comes in a bottle made of multi-layered plastic that's designed to keep oxygen out, keeping the flavor in.
So Kewpie replaced it with yeast extract, which is a naturally occurring source of glutamate. It's worth noting that the change was only for U.S. bottles; Japanese Kewpie mayo maintains the original recipe which includes MSG.
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.
So while the Costco Kewpie is tempting, and probably still pretty tasty, it's not the original formula that David Chang and other chefs rave about. If you want to get a good price on fancier mayonnaise, the Costco version is still a good price for gourmet mayo.
Often described as being 'fishy' due to the presence of monosodium glutamate, Kewpie Mayonnaise is actually rather more egg-like in flavor (made from egg yolks, rather than whole eggs).
The main seasoning is paprika, and the acidity comes from cider vinegar, a departure from the plainer distilled vinegar in most brands of mayonnaise. And Duke's notably skips sugar (which appears in many mayonnaise brands, including both Good & Gather and Kewpie).
It's slightly more sweet and less acidic than American mayo because it contains rice or cider vinegar rather than distilled white vinegar. Japanese mayo is also a bit richer due to the incorporation of egg yolks, unlike American mayo which uses whole eggs.
Substitutes. Add sugar and rice vinegar in a pinch to make Kewpie mayo with regular mayo. It will not be the same as it lacks the rich egg yolk flavors, but this is the closest substitution. For 1 cup of American mayonnaise (I use Best Foods/Hellmann's Mayonnaise), add 2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 1 Tbsp sugar.
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Introduction: My name is Msgr. Benton Quitzon, I am a comfortable, charming, thankful, happy, adventurous, handsome, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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