When it comes to choosing the true origin of mayonnaise, you can pretty much take your pick. It is unknown who really invented the spread and unknown what the purpose was for the invention. It appears that the basic ingredients however started with: oil, egg yolk, lemon juice or vinegar, water, and mustard.
IO.com claims that mayonnaise was created in May of 1927 by a Mrs. Karen Creamo. The story says she was cooking a roast for her family and wanted to create a special sauce to put on the roast. Although this may very well be who created mayonnaise, it is hard for me to imagine, while being a creative cook, that lemon juice or vinegar would be good on a roast. Actually it is hard for me to imagine that even now, basting my roast with mayonnaise would taste good.
On the other hand, enchantedlearning.com takes the creation of mayonnaise a little further back in time. In fact, they claim the creation goes back as far as 1756. It is believed that a French chef working for the Duke de Richelieu created this special and unique sauce for his boss.
I also found at wikipedia.com that the first ready-made mayonnaise was sold in the US in 1905 at a little deli in New York owned and operated by Richard Hellmann. It is reported that Mr. Hellmann sold his wife’s mayonnaise in open wooden boats. This of course would be used as a spread for a sandwich. I noticed that in several places while reading about Hellmann, it refers to the creation as, “his wife’s mayonnaise.” Therefore I have to assume that Mrs. Hellmann would get the credit for the invention of mayonnaise. Well, at least Hellmann’s mayonnaise anyway. In 1912, Mrs. Hellmann’s mayonnaise was mass marketed and called Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise.
Now that we have a little history about mayonnaise, and it’s apparent use as a spread or sauce, what else could it be used for? It has always amazed me how some peoples minds work and the things they will try, not to mention what was going on in their brains to even try it. Below is a list of 10 other uses for mayonnaise besides a sandwich spread or sauce. While reading this list, although I have tried several of these and they do work, what were these people thinking?
Use just enough to thinly coat your hair. Work the mayonnaise through your hair with your fingertips. Then use a comb and pull the mayonnaise through to the ends of your hair. Allow the mayonnaise to stay on your hair for at least 30 minutes before washing out with your regular shampoo. If you have extra dry hair and scalp, you can pile the hair up on your head, put on a plastic shower cap, and leave it on all night then shampoo the mayonnaise out in the morning.
Use about a teaspoon of mayonnaise. You can either leave the mayo out on the counter until it gets to room temperature, or put it in a microwave save container and zap it for a few seconds. If you microwave it, make sure you stir it well to ensure that there are no hot spots. You want it room temperature, not hot. Apply the mayonnaise to your face as you would any other mask. Leave the mask on for at least 15 minutes. After this time, with a wet, warm washcloth, remove the mayonnaise using an upward motion. The dead skin will roll off easily. You will need to rinse the washcloth often while removing the mayonnaise.
Put about a half a cup of mayonnaise in a bowl. Using your fingers, apply enough of the mayonnaise directly on the gum, to cover it entirely. I found this method to work best when I applied it to the top and bottom sides of where the gum is located. Gently rub the mayonnaise into the gum with your fingertips. I mentioned getting a bowl with ½ cup of mayo because more than likely you will have to repeat this process several times. After a little rubbing, the gum actually will disappear. This fact is a little scary when you think it about it. Mayonnaise will dissolve a piece of gum, what does it do to our stomachs?
Coat the hair in mayonnaise and leave it on for at least an hour. You have to make sure that ALL the hair is saturated with mayo. Supposedly, the oil in the mayo will kill the lice. After coating the hair with that much mayo, you may have to use a dish soap that cuts grease to get the oil out. I have not tried this remedy for lice, but l also found information that stated the mayo may indeed kill the live lice, but may or may not have any effect on the nits. Also from pediatrics.about.com they state to be careful using alternative methods to remove lice, as they have been untested as remedies.
5. Make Plant Leaves Shiny
Using a little mayonnaise on a dry rag, gently rub the plant leaves as if you were polishing them. The mayo supposedly will not hurt the plant but will leave the leaves nice and shiny. I have not done this with a live plant, but have used mayonnaise on plastic plants. It is indeed time consuming, but makes the plant look brand new.
6. Remove Road Tar
I have indeed done this and it does work. Apply a dab of mayonnaise to each place on the car where tar has splattered from the road. I worked in a small area at a time. Applying a dab to each space will allow it to start working before you actually have to rub. After applying the mayonnaise to the tar and letting it sit for a few minutes, with a clean rag, rub the area where the tar is. Again, this will remove the tar from the car. You may have to reapply and rework some areas where the tar is thicker.
Apply a small amount of mayonnaise around your fingernail and let set for about 2 minutes. Using a cuticle stick, gently push the cuticle around the nail back. Also if you are prone to hangnails, rubbing a little mayo on the nail, and the skin surrounding the nail, will keep the skin soft and less likely to peel. You will need to rub the mayonnaise into the areas you are treating just as you would rub in a lotion.
8. Remove Glue Residue
If you have a container that you have peeled the label off of, but the glue residue is still there, or after washing, the container still feels sticky, apply a little mayonnaise over the sticky area. Then, with a clean dry cloth, gently rub the area using a circular motion. This should remove the residue from the container. You will have to use different parts of your rag. If you continue using the same area, you will just smear the residue on another part of the container.
9. Mayonnaise On A Sunburn
Cold mayonnaise directly out of the refrigerator applied to a sunburn will help relieve the heat from the sunburn. Also it is known that vinegar applied to a sunburn is a natural anesthetic and helps reduce the pain from a sunburn. Mayonnaise contains vinegar as an ingredient therefore by applying the mayo you get the benefit of both a cooling agent and pain reliever.
10. I am going to leave this one up to you. What unique ideas or suggestions do you have for the use mayonnaise? What have you tried? Did it work or not work?
