The short answer is that one group of people have good taste while the other group of people are absurd. There's a little more to whether you're more likely to dollop mayo or Miracle Whip on that toasted hamburger bun, like where you were raised.
Usually when the topic of mayo versus Miracle Whip comes up in polite conversation, I do my best to sneak out of the room before it becomes impolite conversation filled with expletives, hair pulling and flying sandwiches. If escaping isn't an option I bring up a less volatile topic - like religion, the death penalty or Chinese labour laws.
I'm in the hate it camp. For Miracle Whip that is. I don't like it, I've never liked it and other than the basic look of it, it isn't at all like mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise is a creamy, rich, delicate concoction that enhances food. Miracle Whip is stronger tasting, sweet, filled with spices and not so subtle. So when people ask what the difference between Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip is, I can only assume they've only tried one of them. Because if you've tried them both you KNOW there's a difference.
Beyond taste there are a few more things that set them and their fans apart.
Table of Contents
What's the difference between Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip?
- Tangy, creamy
- 90 calories per tablespoon
- More oil
- No sweeteners
- Originated in Europe 200 years ago
- Tangy/Sweet
- 60 calorie per tablespoon
- Less oil
- Has high fructose corn syrup
- Invented in 1933 by some asshole
What YOU prefer probably has as much to do with where you live.
You probably like Miracle Whip if you live in ...
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Pennsylvania or Maryland.
You probably like Mayo if you live in ...
Canada, the other American states or Europe.
You're showing your age if you prefer this one
Just for fun I asked ChatGPT who it thought would prefer mayo over Miracle Whip.
What ChatGPT had to say
- Older generations (around 50 years old and above) grew up before the advent of the Internet and may have experienced the prevalence of traditional dishes and culinary practices. They will prefer mayonnaise.
- Younger generations (below the age of 40) particularly those belonging to Generation X, Millennials (Generation Y), and Generation Z have grown up in the digital age & have been exposed to a wide range of global cuisines and culinary innovations. ChatGPT theorizes that this makes anyone under 40 more likely to be adventurous with multicultural cuisines and culinary experimentation. They will prefer Miracle Whip.
That's right. If you're part of Generation X (between 43 and 58 years old), like I am, ChatGPT apparently thinks you are both old AND young.
It also has chosen to ignore anyone between the age of 40 and 50, presumably because these people only eat avocado toast.
ChatGPT considers Miracle Whip to be a culinary adventure.
If Miracle Whip is considered a bold culinary risk it's possible that ChatGPT is actually a 5 year old in Wisconsin.
In this favourite foods you've eaten post I confess to eating barnacles and a lot of you confess to eating even weirder things - like cod tongue. And loving it.
Many times what you were raised on dictates what you lean towards. My mother used Miracle Whip but only if the store was out of a little something called "Sandwich Spread", a mixture of mayonnaise-like goo and relish. In the 80's she branched out into the hoity toity world of Mayonnaise but now generally just buys whichever she can get the biggest bucket of at Costco.
I'm not sure how I escaped the lure of Miracle Whip, having been raised on it, but I did. One of the reasons I prefer Mayonnaise (other than the taste) is you can make mayonnaise at home with 4 ingredients and a few minutes and it tastes as good or even better than the stuff you buy in the store. That isn't always the case with homemade goods.
Like people say they prefer homemade ketchup. As if. There's no way anyone could duplicate the perfect combination of sweet and tart that comes oozing out of a Heinz bottle. Anyone who says they prefer homemade ketchup is a hippie hipster liar who wears shoes made out of braided cat hair.
You knew this was coming. I'd like to do an informal poll. Let's keep it polite people.
What do you prefer? Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?
Your answer won't affect how I feel about you. Chances are I already thought you were absurd.
They both sound pretty gross. My dad only put whatever it was in tuna. Now I can't make tuna because I never have either one. Greek yogurt is not the same, if you are wondering. :p
I am a 1st generation Canadian (German Immigrant parents) - born & raised in a small farming town in Ontario, Canada.
I am a Boomer(1959) and it's Miracle Whip all the way baaaby!
Good old German Potato Salad doesn't go rancid sitting in a metal picnic cooler, under the shade of an old Hickory Nut tree, in the hay field on a scortching hot, late August afternoon!
But; Mayo egg salad sandwiches, turned to liquid, on an equally hot July day at Pinehurst Lake, in the same aforementioned cooler after only 4 hours! Go Figure
Thank God we now know more about Food Safety! ~LoL~
I've tried to like Mayo but something just doesn't taste quite right about it...might be Pinehurst flashbacks...I dunno!!
....and Karen...OMG...so thankful to know that I'm not the only one who can't go into the backyard and "relax" with a cuppa coffee!! Within 5 minutes - I'm up and at 'em because it hurts my brain to not be doing something!!
Summers in Canada are just too damn short to be doing nothing!!
Nadya, your last paragraph made me laugh 😂. It is good to know Im not the only one! I try so hard to sit and enjoy my coffee but my mind always wanders of what I need to do next (West Coast Canadian)
On another note - its Mayo all the way 😉
Born and raised in Ohio and and I'm Mayo all the way!
Mayo!
Mayo....forever and ALWAYS. Born in 1950! An oldie...LOL
Mayo. Especially on my home grown tomato sandwiches. I am in my mid 50s...
Every breakfast since the tomato's have been ready to go on a sandwich with Mayo 😊
I accidently bought Store Brand miracle whip the other day (it looked almost identical to the Store Brand mayonaise) and I couldn't figure out why my egg salad sandwich tasted so weird. I thought someone had put sugar in the salt cellar! Then I looked at the label closely...blech. Threw that s**t out.
I very opposed to it in potato salad as well. To quote you, BLECH. ~ karen!
Here in Ontario, Canada ... I use both, but was raised on Miracle Whip and still do crave it from time to time. Also admitting to a love of BOTH KINDS of Sandwich Spread (the green AND the pinky/orange) ... Mmmmmmm, childhood sandwich memories!
I draw the line at sandwich spread. DRAW THE LINE. ~ karen!
I have eaten both, my taste buds out grew the Miracle Whip!
#teammayo I was raised on miracle whip and used it into my 20s. I really disliked Mayo. I still don’t care for store-bought. I’ll eat a dry crust sandwich before I use store-bought. I learned how to make my own mayo and have never looked back. It’s so easy to make and I even have a trick when it breaks. I thought maybe of tasting miracle whip again for nostalgia but my mouth just turned upside down.
I was raised on Miracle Whip in the 1950s. My mother put that shit on everything including a dollop on my raspberry jello. I grew up and in my kitchen, I now make my own mayo and Greek yogurt. I haven't seen a jar of that c%&# for years now. Sorry, Mom. Carry on, Karen.
A dollop on raspberry jello….I’m dying laughing here!
I don't like mayonnaise.
I HATE Miracle Whip.
OMG "Anyone who says they prefer homemade ketchup is a hippie hipster liar who wears shoes made out of braided cat hair." That's the kind of writing I read your blog for. omg I am dead.
Anyway, I was raised on Miracle Whip. I will happily eat a spoonful just because. But through adulthood, I would always wonder why I never quite liked my tuna sandwiches. Turns out it was the Mayonnaise!
But now that I'm an adult, I can do the unthinkable: buy BOTH Miracle Whip and Mayonnaise. I like real mayo on things like turkey / cold cut sandwiches and tuna sandwiches. I like miracle whip for egg salad sandwiches. There's something dreadfully offputting (to me, obviously a weirdo) about the flavor of an egg salad made with real mayo. But now that I realized my tuna sandwiches are like 90% better by using real mayo instead of Miracle Whip, I am so much happier. And I can keep my weirdo Miracle Whip AND Mayo and be perfectly content.
WHAAAT?? I have to lie down. ~ karen!
Dukes mayo ---no sugar!
We cant get Dukes in Canada but i hear so many good things about it esp with tomato sandwiches. Please send us some
I would prefer to discuss religion
Miracle Whip
Mayo but then I live in the UK so have never tasted the alternative
Mayo! Definitely!! My mom made ours from scratch..THE BEST!!!
Mayo
Mayonnaise and I’m from North Carolina