Is Mayonnaise Gluten Free And Known Gluten Free Mayo Brands

• Mayonnaise is usually gluten-free as it’s usually a mix of egg yolks, oil and acid

• Most mayo brands do NOT contain any gluten and are safe to eat

• Do you still need to check the label before eating? Yes, you should as brands might add certain things that may contain gluten.

• If you make mayonnaise at home, you can be 100% sure what goes inside.

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Is mayonnaise gluten free? For the most part, YES, it is, but it depends on which brand and company you buy it from, so it’s best to keep reading below.

If you think about Mayonnaise you sure can’t think of anything that could contain gluten right? But it’s not just the ingredients to look out for right?

In this article, we will answer the question is mayonnaise gluten free in the most detailed way possible so you won’t have to question yourself again.

So is Mayonnaise gluten free or not?

YES, for most mayonnaise brands it does not contain any gluten. Mayo is usually made from eggs, oil, vinegar, lemon and it could also contain mustered.

Most mayo brands will show the gluten free label on their bottle/jar so you can be sure they have passed the testing and do not contain any gluten. However, if you find a brand that doesn’t show the label, you should read the ingredients carefully, and if in doubt, just search for something else.

The biggest concern actually with products like mayo is cross contamination, because if you eat with other people and they for example take some mayo from the jar with a knife and put it on bread, then the whole jar is contaminated.

The solution is to use a squeeze bottle or just make sure to separate the jar and spoons or knifes when using.

What is Mayonnaise

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Mayonnaise or in short Mayo is a thick and creamy spread, or dressing that you can add to your salad, food or meals. It is usually made from egg yolks, lemon or vinegar and seasonings.

Mayonnaise is actually an emulsion. Which is mixing two liquids that you would normally can’t mix. Think of water and oil, if you pour some oil into water they won’t mix right?

But with emulsifying, you slowly add one ingredient to the other while mixing rapidly, this causes a disperses and makes the two liquids combine together to form a new mix. Pretty cool right?

For those wondering, in Mayo the egg yolk acts as the emulsifier that keeps the two liquids together. With out the egg yolks, the liquids will quickly separate again and you would be left with nothing.

Emulsifiers are important to act as a stablizing liaisons between two liquids that can’t mix, gelatin is also a food that can be emulsifier. With mayo, egg yolks contain lecithin, which is a fat emulsifier.

For those wondering, mayo is NOT the same as salad dressing which contains other ingredients and can be much more sweeter.

How mayonnaise is made

Mayonnaise is made by mixing lemon juice and vinegar together with egg yolk. Like we mentioned above, the egg yolks provide the emulsifier that makes all the ingredients stick together.

Next step is to stir everything really fast and while you do that add oil literally drop by drop because if you do it too fast, the two liquid will not mix together properly.

When the mixture begins to be more stable after a while, more thick, you can put oil more rapidly. When all ingredients are mixed together, you can add the seasoning.

If you make a homemade mayo, it’s recommended to use a mixer to help you keep a steady stirring motion while you add all the ingredients.

Ingredients of mayonnaise

We mentioned briefly above the ingredients of mayonnaise, but let’s look at them in more detail. Below are the known and typical ingredients of mayonnaise:

• Oil
• Egg yolks
• Vinegar or lemon juice
• Seasonings

Known Gluten free brands for Mayonnaise

While most mayonnaise brands will be gluten free, and in general, mayo does not contain gluten. You still be better off by looking for known brands that have the gluten free label.

Below are some of the most known brands that offer gluten free mayonnaise. Please note that we only include brands we know and can be easily found online, obviously, there are more on the market.

1. Hellmanns – Real mayonnaise

The brand is owner by Unilever, This might be the most popular mayonnaise in the US ( maybe Heinz is more popular ) and the company states that they use simple, natural ingredients.

2. Heinz

Heinz, could be the most popular mayonnaise brand in the world. More known for their ketchup product, they also produce mayonnaise in many types and styles. 3. Trader Joe’s Mayonnaise

3. Trader Joe’s – Reduced fat mayonnaise

So it seems ONLY the reduced fat version of Trader Joe’s mayonnaise is gluten free, so make sure you get this one if you love this brand. For people looking for real mayonnaise, you need to get a different brand

4. Vegenaise – Vegetarian mayonnaise

This all organic brand offer a range of spreads and sauces, one of these is this organic mayonnaise that the company says is completely gluten free. For those of us who eat only veggies, this is a great choice to have.

5. Blue Plate – Real Mayonnaise

Things to look out for

When searching for a gluten free mayonnaise, like any other product or food, it’s important to understand cross contamination and all the ingredients that go into the product.

Some factories say they make gluten free products when in reality they make a lot of different foods on the same line, which is then contaminated and is not really gluten free.

Every person with celiac will tell you that most of the time, you need to look out for cross contamination because it’s so easy to miss that. So please be aware.

Bottom line

Is mayonnaise gluten free? YES it is, but look out for the ingredients and cross contamination and you be fine.

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