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Originally Posted by AliceNWondrland

2. What is the origin of mayonnaise? (I've always wondered about that. I mean, did someone actually think, "Hey, I'll bet egg whites, oil and vinegar would taste really great together!" or was it an accidental discovery?

I had a friend who's training to be a professional chef, but before she started she was extremely interested in weird historical facts about food. We had a long discussion about mayonnaise once, because I too thought it was an odd creation and we had been doing emulsifiers in chemistry and she told me the story - basically it was made by the French chef of a duke who was preparing a feast after the duke's victory - I think he was to serve something with a sauce made of cream and eggs but since there was no cream he had to find a substitute - so he used oil. I think vinegar was added as a preservative at a later date.

Jam it back in, in the dark.