How dare someone suggest to a Southerner that Duke’s isn’t the best mayonnaise

#Dukesforlife.

TRAVESTY. #Dukes4evah.

#fakenews.

Those are just a sampling of tweets in response to a Chicago Tribune taste test of mayonnaises that was published in The News & Observer, from common brands like Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise and Kraft Real Mayo to more specialized ones, like Kewpie Mayonnaise from Japan.

And where did Duke’s – the vaunted Southern mayonnaise – land on this blind test? Number 4!

What?! The internet, as it’s wont to do, wasn’t pleased with these findings.

When it comes to mayonnaise, turns out people have very strong opinions about which one is the best, at least among those who don’t turn their nose up at the condiment.

And the best one – heck, the only mayo worth dolloping on your tomato sandwich – is Duke’s Mayonnaise, according to our readers.

The obsession for Duke’s is real, y’all.

Witness the fan art that Duke’s proudly posts on its social media accounts. How many food products, other than, say, Campbell’s soup, can boast that their consumers’ love for said product extends to paintings? It has conjured up think pieces titled “Why Duke’s Mayonnaise Matters.” Most condiments can’t say the same.

Duke’s may even unite political parties. South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis tweeted Wednesday, “If Dems want to win in South, they must pledge allegiance to Duke’s mayo. Look at the comments.”

The Republican referred people to his Facebook page, where a post on Tuesday – about which way bananas should be sliced for a sandwich – revealed a jar of Hellman’s mayonnaise in the background. The treasurer’s Facebook fans erupted with people fixating on his choice of mayonnaise, rather than the question at hand. A followup post on mayo choice pitted Duke’s against Hellmann’s and garnered a similar response.

Duke’s, after all, is from Greenville, S.C., and his choice seemed downright treacherous. Even South Carolina lawmakers declared April 27 “Duke’s Day” in celebration of the mayonnaise’s 100th birthday.

Indeed, it’s a critical decision in the restaurant world and can be seen as a sense of pride. When mayonnaise is mentioned on menus, only Duke’s is called out by name.

“Honestly, we had a conversation specifically about mayonnaise,” said Daniel Whitaker, owner of the Pharmacy Cafe inside Person Street Pharmacy. He and Chef Patrick Cowden hashed out the mayonnaise decision when crafting their menu about two years ago.

“Are we going to make our own?” Whitaker recalls the discussion. “There’s clearly a best mayo out there. Like clearly. Not an argument.”

They both wrote down their choice of mayonnaise on a piece of paper. Fortunately, for the sake of their menu, and possibly their business relationship, they both came to the same conclusion: Duke’s.

Whitaker estimates they go through eight industrial-sized gallons of Duke’s mayonnaise a week. It’s used on sandwiches, burgers, pimento cheese, chicken salad and housemade aiolis.

“Why would you go through the trouble of making mayonnaise?” Whitaker said. “That’s what it came down to.”

Mayonnaise was a point of discussion, too, at Nofo at the Pig in Five Points about 15 years ago, owner Jean Martin said. Duke’s can be found in the cafe’s chicken salad, pimento cheese and any mayonnaise-based sauce.

“It seems to be the most popular to our customers if we ask our customers, and we did,” she said. They had focus groups on different aspects of the menu, she said.

“We asked them about shrimp and grits, we asked them about mayonnaise,” she said. “In the South, it’s very important.”

So, what is so special about Duke’s?

Whitaker said it has just the right blend of oil, eggs and salt. The texture is a little bit different than other mayos, too, he said.

Kinston Chef Vivian Howard of Chef and the Farmer and The Boiler Room calls mayonnaise “the mother sauce of the South” and devoted an episode of her PBS TV series, “A Chef’s Life,” to it. She espouses Duke’s as her mayo of choice and waxes poetic about the mayonnaise in a Duke’s commercial. She said it’s smooth and creamy, with a lemony edge.

Martin speculates it tastes most like the mayonnaise made by mothers and grandmothers when people were growing up.

“Growing up with homemade mayonnaise – I’m 75 – everybody had homemade mayonnaise in their refrigerators,” Martin said. “There weren’t so many choices in the stores.”

Martin almost reluctantly confesses she uses Hellmann’s at home for that reason.

“It must be that it tastes more like my grandmother’s and mother’s,” she said, starting to question her revelation. “Maybe I should walk that back.”

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 4:53 PM with the headline "How dare someone suggest to a Southerner that Duke’s isn’t the best mayonnaise."