There is an opinion that in case of failures in the culinary field, do not despair too much if there are mayonnaise and ketchup in the refrigerator. After all, with their help you can fix many mistakes. It is up to you to judge how true this statement is, but there is an indisputable fact: these two sauces are present on dining tables more often than all the others.
Mayonnaise Story
To the question of who came up with mayonnaise, there are as many as three possible answers. One thing unites them - events unfolded in the 18th century.
Mayonnaise Bread - Yummy!
The first story tells of the besieged Spanish city of Mahon and gives an answer to the question "in which year the mayonnaise was invented," because the action took place in 1757. At that time, the city was captured by the French under the leadership of the Duke de Richelieu and held the defense against the British. The siege lasted a long time, and the French army was faced with the problem of hunger, since only two products remained in the arsenal of cooks: olive oil and turkey eggs. No matter how the chefs tried to diversify the soldier’s menu, they didn’t succeed. Then one of the cooks tried to grind the yolks with spices, after which he added olive oil in small doses to them. The result was an excellent sauce, with which even ordinary bread became an elegant treat for soldiers. Unfortunately, the one who invented mayonnaise did not leave his name in history. Therefore, the sauce was named not in honor of the cook, but in honor of the besieged city - Maon, later - just mayonnaise.
Special table decoration
The second story gives a slightly different answer to the question of who came up with mayonnaise, but it takes us all to the same city of Mahon, but 25 years later. By that time, the Spaniards had captured him. In honor of the victory, the army leader, the Duke Louis de Crillon, ordered a magnificent celebration. The task for the cooks now was not to come up with something out of nothing, but on the contrary, to provide the table with a twist, a special dish that everyone would remember. In response to his demand, the chefs mixed olive oil with yolks and lemon juice, seasoned with sugar, salt and red pepper. So it turned out a delicious Provence sauce.
This version of the one who came up with mayonnaise is very doubtful and contradictory. You must admit that it’s rather difficult to come up with the pressure to fulfill an order to come up with such an original dish without knowing its basic principle. Therefore, there is another story about who came up with mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise ancestor - ali-oli sauce
This version is not related to the Spanish city. According to her, the place where they came up with mayonnaise was Southern Europe. Local residents long before the events in Mahon prepared a spicy mixture of eggs, oil and garlic. They called it "ali-oli", which in Spanish meant "oil and garlic." Of course, this garlic sauce is significantly different from the usual mayonnaise, but the French cooks could know the principle and successfully use it as a special dish on the gala table. Today, garlic mass is known as aioli sauce.
Comparing all three stories, the only correct conclusions can be made - the mayonnaise, in a form familiar in our time, was invented by the French in the 18th century. Until then, simply no one knew about him. It is not necessary to say that after the appearance of white sauce, the recipe for its preparation was kept in strict confidence. Because without knowledge of special technical secrets it is impossible to make mayonnaise. Accordingly, the price for this product was quite high.
Famous olivier
In the 19th century, a culinary specialist of French origin Lucien Olivier opened the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow. Monsieur came from a well-known dynasty of cooks in France, who contributed to the preparation of Maon sauce. In particular, they began to add mustard to it. This small nuance has greatly simplified the cooking process and extended shelf life, since mustard is an emulsifier of natural origin. Thanks to the spicy island flavor, the sauce was given its own name - "Provence", or Provence.
Lucien Olivier, the holder of mayonnaise secrets, made a great contribution to the development of Russian cuisine traditions. His most famous invention was a winter salad, which was later named after the cook - Olivier. It is difficult to imagine the Russian New Year even in the 21st century without this salad on the table. During its formation, it became a real tradition of the nation, although the recipe familiar to each mistress is significantly different from the one that Moscow residents admired in the 19th century. Unfortunately, restaurateur Lucien was categorical and kept the secret of cooking under lock and key until his death. Although no matter how hard the then competitors tried to recreate his creation (after all, almost all the ingredients were known), they failed to exactly repeat the masterpiece. The original recipe went with his author to the grave.
Tomato sauce
In addition to mayonnaise, there is another sauce, no less well-known to everyone. If, to some extent, we answered the question of who came up with mayonnaise, things are somewhat different with ketchup. The most likely version is that according to which it was brought to Europe in the 17th century by British sailors who came from China. True, the then ketchup was not much like the tomato mixture popular today. It consisted of anchovies, mushrooms, spices, soybeans, but the tomatoes did not stand close to the ingredients necessary for cooking. Tomatoes began to be added only in 1830.
The most popular ketchup became in the USA. Americans today treat this sauce in a special way. Statistics show that almost 97% of the inhabitants of this country cannot do without ketchup at the dinner table. They add it to almost every possible dish.
Ketchup gained fame due to the content in tomatoes of a powerful antioxidant lycopene, which is able to fight free radicals, which means it prolongs youth. In addition, its constant use can prevent the occurrence of cancer. Studies have shown that lycopene is better perceived by the body not in its raw form, but in processed form. Therefore, Americans prefer ketchup rather than fresh tomatoes.
Sauces Tips
Any dish is the most healthy and tasty when it is made from quality products and immediately served fresh. Mayonnaise and ketchup are no exception to this rule. Today, in various culinary portals, you can find a large number of recipes for the preparation of these sauces, which will help harmoniously emphasize the tastes of many dishes of both a festive and everyday feast.