It’s a mayonnaise-like salad dressing. While it can be used just like mayo in general, it’s sweeter, slightly more acidic, and has a slightly different texture.
So, it’s mainly used in dishes where you’d add a bit of vinegar and sweetener to begin with. There’s some versions of potato, pasta, and egg salads that need the hint of sweetness to work right, and most benefit from a touch of vinegar. Miracle whip already has that, and at the right levels when used as a dressing that you don’t have to tweak as much.
Now, it can also be used for anything mayo can be used for, but the sweetness is a bit too high for most people’s palates compared to regular mayo. So, using it on sandwiches, or as a component of sauces or mixed dressings (like honey mustard dipping sauces, as an example) isn’t very popular.
The texture differs from most brands of mayonnaise enough to be notable, though people rarely complain about that part. Most mayo is whipped enough to be rather “fluffy”, and miracle whip tends to be thicker, with less of that mayo mouth feel.
Now, if you compare it to home made mayo, it’s essentially not the same thing at all. But regular brands of mayo are as different from home made, just in other ways.
Imo, it’s a great product. Used judiciously, it can improve damn near everything that uses mayo. I tend to use both, rather than just miracle whip, and it gives a great balance of texture to things like deviled eggs, and the salads I mentioned (with the caveat that there are multiple types of those salads, and not all will be good with MW in the mix). And I love the stuff on a cheese sandwich. Couple slices of cheddar and some miracle whip is a pretty unique combination of tastes that works very well.
No way man. In rare occasions, like when eating a Jimmy John’s sub, real Hellman’s mayo is the only answer. Sometimes in BBQ dressings / sauces you also can’t substitute. For basically everything else, ESPECIALLY sandwiches, there is no beating the tangy zip of miracle whip, to quote their old commercials.
As an Indiana boy, it’s the only mayo I had until I was a man, and I have no regrets.
Tbh, growing up it was either Duke’s or miracle whip, depending on whose house I was at between grandparents or home. I kinda preferred MW on almost all sandwiches until my mid twenties. Started getting more into cooking on a craft level, which meant exploring flavor combinations. Turns out that, for my tastes (because I hate food snobbery and recognize that all food taste is subjective), there isn’t a single “best” ingredient for most things.
When it comes to the mayo/salad dressing realm, the three big names, Duke’s, Hellman’s and miracle whip, all have their own distinct flavor and texture. I found that I prefer one over another for most things, and a combination of two or three for some. Like, the traditional potato salad on my mom’s side of the family, it’s Duke’s or nothing. You start with MW, and it gets muddied with the mustard. Hellman’s is too fluffy and eggy for that specific use, though I find Hellman’s and Duke’s mostly interchangeable with salads.
But my deviled egg s alad; Hellman’s and MW are the default in a 1 to 2 ratio. Then the sweet relish, paprika, and a hint of cayenne to make it come together. Duke’s makes it too thick, and MW by itself too sweet.
But I will never say nay to anyone making things the way they like them :). And I agree totally that there’s no real substitute for miracle whip when that’s what’s called for. Can’t even do a homemade version that’s better (and, being honest, not as good in my best attempt).
It’s kinda like mustards and ketchups. Each brand has its own recipe that can significantly change how it works in the mouth. One brand of yellow mustard just isn’t the exact same as any other brand, and there’s limited difference even possible. Hell, that’s like many of the liquors of the world; one distillery is going to be a huge difference from another once you get beyond the basic taste of a given spirit. Even from batch to batch, you’ll get changes.
![[Edited] Thanks, I hate it](https://lemmy.today/pictrs/image/fcac34fb-37e7-4bba-8a35-76f83b42236b.jpeg){kind=link}
What’s Miracle whip?
It’s a mayonnaise-like salad dressing. While it can be used just like mayo in general, it’s sweeter, slightly more acidic, and has a slightly different texture.
So, it’s mainly used in dishes where you’d add a bit of vinegar and sweetener to begin with. There’s some versions of potato, pasta, and egg salads that need the hint of sweetness to work right, and most benefit from a touch of vinegar. Miracle whip already has that, and at the right levels when used as a dressing that you don’t have to tweak as much.
Now, it can also be used for anything mayo can be used for, but the sweetness is a bit too high for most people’s palates compared to regular mayo. So, using it on sandwiches, or as a component of sauces or mixed dressings (like honey mustard dipping sauces, as an example) isn’t very popular.
The texture differs from most brands of mayonnaise enough to be notable, though people rarely complain about that part. Most mayo is whipped enough to be rather “fluffy”, and miracle whip tends to be thicker, with less of that mayo mouth feel.
Now, if you compare it to home made mayo, it’s essentially not the same thing at all. But regular brands of mayo are as different from home made, just in other ways.
Imo, it’s a great product. Used judiciously, it can improve damn near everything that uses mayo. I tend to use both, rather than just miracle whip, and it gives a great balance of texture to things like deviled eggs, and the salads I mentioned (with the caveat that there are multiple types of those salads, and not all will be good with MW in the mix). And I love the stuff on a cheese sandwich. Couple slices of cheddar and some miracle whip is a pretty unique combination of tastes that works very well.
No way man. In rare occasions, like when eating a Jimmy John’s sub, real Hellman’s mayo is the only answer. Sometimes in BBQ dressings / sauces you also can’t substitute. For basically everything else, ESPECIALLY sandwiches, there is no beating the tangy zip of miracle whip, to quote their old commercials.
As an Indiana boy, it’s the only mayo I had until I was a man, and I have no regrets.
Nothing wrong with that :)
Tbh, growing up it was either Duke’s or miracle whip, depending on whose house I was at between grandparents or home. I kinda preferred MW on almost all sandwiches until my mid twenties. Started getting more into cooking on a craft level, which meant exploring flavor combinations. Turns out that, for my tastes (because I hate food snobbery and recognize that all food taste is subjective), there isn’t a single “best” ingredient for most things.
When it comes to the mayo/salad dressing realm, the three big names, Duke’s, Hellman’s and miracle whip, all have their own distinct flavor and texture. I found that I prefer one over another for most things, and a combination of two or three for some. Like, the traditional potato salad on my mom’s side of the family, it’s Duke’s or nothing. You start with MW, and it gets muddied with the mustard. Hellman’s is too fluffy and eggy for that specific use, though I find Hellman’s and Duke’s mostly interchangeable with salads.
But my deviled egg s alad; Hellman’s and MW are the default in a 1 to 2 ratio. Then the sweet relish, paprika, and a hint of cayenne to make it come together. Duke’s makes it too thick, and MW by itself too sweet.
But I will never say nay to anyone making things the way they like them :). And I agree totally that there’s no real substitute for miracle whip when that’s what’s called for. Can’t even do a homemade version that’s better (and, being honest, not as good in my best attempt).
It’s kinda like mustards and ketchups. Each brand has its own recipe that can significantly change how it works in the mouth. One brand of yellow mustard just isn’t the exact same as any other brand, and there’s limited difference even possible. Hell, that’s like many of the liquors of the world; one distillery is going to be a huge difference from another once you get beyond the basic taste of a given spirit. Even from batch to batch, you’ll get changes.