What is in Name

Mayonnaise, bayonnaise or Magnonnaise??

A cold emulsified sauce consisting of egg yolks and oil blended together and flavoured with vinegar, salt,pepper and mustard.

There are four possible etymologies of its name, whose spelling has also changed several times. Some sources attribute the name to the Duke of Richelieu, who captured port Mahon on th island of Minorca on 28 June 1756. Either the duke himself or his chef created the sauce during this period and named it mahonnaise. Others beleive that the sauce was originally a speciality of the town of Bayonne, known as bayonnaise sauce, which has since become modified to mayonnaise. However, Careme claimed that the wordis derived from the French verb manier(to stir) andcalled it magnonnaise or magninonnaise; in his cuisinier parisien: he wrote "...... it is only by stirring the liquids together that one can acheive a saucetaht is very smooth, very appetizing, and unique ofits kind, as it does notbear any resemblence to the sauces that are obtained only by boiling and reducing on the stove." Finally, Prosper Montagne suggested that the word was" a popular corruption of moyeunaise, derived from the Old French moyeu,meaning egg yolk. Now when all is said and done, the sauce is simple an emulsion of egg yolk and oil"

The incorporation of complimentary ingredients into plain mayonnaise allowsa very wide rangeof derivative sauces to be obtained: andalouse, italienne, tartare,verte, Cambridge, indienne,dijonnaise, gribiche, vincent. In order to make a successful mayonnaise, it is important that all the ingredients should be at the same temperature. Some recommend that the egg yolk should be left to stand with some mustard for a few minutes before adding oil. If a mayonnaise has curdeled, this can be rectified by adding the mixture, a little ata atime, to another egg yolk plus a pinch of mustard and a few drops of vinegar or water. Mayonnaise shouldbe stored ina cool place, but not in the refrigirator.

Mayonnasie is served as an accomaniment to cold dishes. It can also be used for decoration or as a seasoning of fish, shellfish and poultry. When mixed with aspic , mayonnaise is used for coating coldfood or binding the ingredients of a salad.

To end with whatever is said and done,i stand with the great Careme.