This Is the Only Store-Bought Mayo That Julia Child Used
Julia Child devoted an episode of “The French Chef” to handmade, French-style mayonnaise.
Her prolific books and television program recipes include dozens of homemade mayonnaise recipes, including one with gelatin! Julia was so dedicated to making French mayonnaise that she may have never bought it.
Julia used store-bought mayonnaise regularly. In her senior years, she made tuna, potato, and salad niçoise with jarred mayo often.
When not making mayonnaise by hand, she used Hellmann's. Most famously, food writer Dorie Greenspan wrote about this in the New York Times.
Dorie says Julia made tuna salad on toasted English muffins for working lunches while writing “Baking With Julia.”
Hellmann's mayo differs from Julia's French. Hellman's American-style mayo uses entire eggs, lemon juice, oil, salt, and perhaps sugar.
French-style mayonnaise has egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, oil, and salt. Hellman's mayo is lighter and less acidic, making it ideal for Julia's beloved packed-in-oil tuna.
A German immigrant and deli owner in New York City invented Hellmann's mayo in the 1920s.