Mayonaise

B

bbqjoe

Guest
After reading some of yesterdays posts concerning mayonaise I am completely flabbergasted.
I am not disputing what was read, but this goes against everything I ever heard or was taught.
I'm fairly certain, that if I had cold table pan of mayo sitting at room temp open on a counter when the health inspector came in, she would have something to say about it.

Fortunately, I don't serve mayo here except for slaw and potato salad, which are always kept cold.

I have too often witnessed mayo handling that has caused me to never order it in a restaurant.
I have seen pans of mayo that have been sitting unused for hours, developing that yellowish transparent layer on top, only to be stirred in and then applied to a sandwich.

Well, maybe the mayo hasn't grown any bacteria, but I'm not counting on it.
 
Joe Come on you are the man. What are the real facts not gut feeling (pardon the pun) We had a few links in the other thread what do the health departments say?
 
I have a call into my local health inspector.
Please stand by.......
 
I recieved a bottle of squeeze mayo in my gift bag from grillin on the bay and it says right on front "no refrigeration" its been open and in my cabinet and still seems good
 
Well, I guess pickles don't need refrigeration, so it makes sense. Same with pickled eggs. Still creepy to think about though.
 
From the days before refrigeration, pickling and salting were the proper methods of food storage.
 
I just got off the phone with our health dept inspector.
I asked her about the refrigeration of mayo.
I told her of the literature that said mayo didn't need refrigeration if the eggs used were pasturized. She said she wasn't aware of that info.
I then asked her how she would react if she walked into my kitchen and saw a pan of mayo on the counter at room temp.

She said that she would first ask why this was out and not under refrigeration.
She said that if I explained the above to her, she would want to see the packaging. If the package stated that refrigeration was not required, then she would have to go with the manufacturers recommendation on the label.

Personal note: I'm keeping mine refrigerated, period.
 
Does anyone else find it odd that a Health Dept. Inspector was not aware of this? I think the inspector gave a great answer considering the circumstances, but I would have guessed this would have been a water cooler topic at some point over there at the Health Dept.
 
Theres probably so much chemicals in the regular retail mayo now adays that its not as big a problem.
 
wnkt said:
Theres probably so much chemicals in the regular retail mayo now adays that its not as big a problem.
Click to expand...
It is not so much a matter of chemicals, as it is chemistry. Truth is that Mayo is a very stable product, with enough acidity to retard bactarial growth.
 
timzcardz said:
Well, with a little digging, found out that Hellmann's (Best's, west of the Rockies) agrees that mayonnaise is not a safety issue.

http://www.unilever800.com/hellmanns_faq/answer.asp?host=www.hellmanns.com&ID=5&Counter=1&When=6/22/2006
Click to expand...

It's an interesting debate, because I asked the guy from Hellman's about the Mayo he gave us for Grillin' On The Bay and he said that no Hellman's or Best (Same product different name) Mayo needed to be refridgerated. But they only labeled the squeeze bottle as such. Regular jars still have the refriderate after opening waring on them. As he put it, "Marketing my boy, marketing."
 
I'm with Joe on this one... I'm just keeping mine refrigerated anyway regardless of the documentation.
 
It is good to keep it refrigerated from a quality standpoint, it's just not required from a safety standpoint.

Form the linked fact sheet:

Q.What happens if I leave
mayonnaise unrefrigerated
for a long period of time?

A. From a food safety standpoint, commercial mayonnaise and
mayonnaise-type dressings are perfectly stable when stored at room
temperature after opening. Quality, not safety, is the only reason
the labels on these products suggest that they be refrigerated after
opening. Refrigeration ensures that the commercial mayonnaise
keeps its fresh flavor for a longer period of time.
Click to expand...
 
bbqjoe said:
mayo didn't need refrigeration if the eggs used were pasturized.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing, but 'Helmans' needs refrigeration once opened. Doesnt all premade mayo use pasturized eggs?

Is it also something to do with the treatment of the eggs other than pasturization?

If you want to convince yourself that diet products are bad pickup a jar of Helmans Original and Helmans Light and compare the ingredients. The Light is stuffed full of chemicals!
 
Interesting thread. I've been at picnics where potato salad has been left out all day and no one got sick.
 
I think this is a myth (mayonnaise causing problems) my self. The real problem is what is the mayonnaise on or in. Having said that, I still refrigerate my mayo.:biggrin:
 
I believe it's not the eggs so much as the oil. The egg is essentially covered in oil, keeping air from getting to it. Oil lasts a long time at room temp.
I know I've seen yellowed mayo used, restirred, in the past in my coffee shops and fast food. I've tasted it, too. It may have been just my imagination since I knew what I was tasting but it seemed that there was a great difference in taste. Not rancid, per se, more of a different texture in the taste if you know what I mean.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

4ever3
Smokin’ and fryin’?
Replies
7
Views
594
kevinstaggs
kevinstaggs
B
Avoid Pit Boss Pellets!
2
Replies
32
Views
3K
Sooner21
S
B
I made Pastrami from scratch
Replies
14
Views
758
RandyNight
R
Happy Hapgood
Anyone else heard or Fake News?
2
Replies
29
Views
3K
Giantswede
G
B
Opening a BBQ trailer - advice, tips, warnings, give me your best!
2 3 4
Replies
60
Views
38K
chocolatea
C
Back
Top