Mayo lovers, rejoice!
Summary:
- Mayonnaise is an extremely popular condiment in Japan, more popular than any kind of tomato sauce.
- Japanese mayonnaise has a different recipe than the Western one.
- It became a kitchen staple and works with most foods.
- Media can't skimp on that cultural trait and there are some prominent mayo lovers in anime.
- Toushirou Hijikata from Gintama tops them all, though.
Those of you familiar with Japanese food know that mayonnaise is considered the most universal condiment. They put it anywhere: on fried chicken, on okonomiyaki pancakes, in actual sweet pancake batter, and in cakes. Mayonnaise is almost everywhere in Japanese cuisine, but why?
It's built differently
If you ever tried Japanese mayonnaise, you probably noticed that it's very different from Western variations. It's smoother, richer in flavor, and doesn't feel much like the salty mayo that we're used to. There's a reason behind that: the main mayonnaise maker in Japan, Kewpie, prides itself on using only the egg yolk, not whole eggs, and it makes the taste richer. This also helps keep the smooth texture with no lumps compared to regular Western mayo. The list of ingredients is pretty short: egg yolks are aided by canola oil, salt, vinegar, and seasonings. And don't forget a healthy dose of MSG.
There's no sugar in Japanese mayonnaise: the sweetness comes from the mix of egg yolks and a blend of vinegars, mostly apple, wine, and rice ones. Western mayonnaise usually uses white vinegar but adds sugar.
Mayonnaise has become a pantry (or fridge) staple in Japanese kitchens and it's paired with everything due to its nature. It's simply tasty, much tastier than the Western one; it helps make bad food more bearable and elevate the good. Try karaage with Kewpie, or look at the signature waves on okonomiyaki pancake — and you'll understand that mayonnaise actually deserves to be here instead of ketchup or another condiment.
Joke about things you love
This obsession became a cultural trait, and like many other cultural traits, it couldn't be ignored by the media. A lot of anime series feature mayo lovers who happily proclaim their obsession, sometimes borderline unhinged, and honestly? We don't blame them. We fully welcome Kotetsu Kaburagi from Tiger & Bunny lathering his fried chicken in mayonnaise, and seeing Bunny's protests elevates these domestic scenes in the cafeteria, adding another layer of playful banter. We support Aqua from KonoSuba looking for mayonnaise on every occasion.
There is, however, one character who made mayonnaise obsession one of his distinct traits, and that's Toushirou Hijikata from Gintama. His mayo consumption is comically high and often is the basis of many jokes, from his utter belief that the whole world should love mayo, including cats, to his dreams being shattered after visiting a mayonnaise production factory.
But truly, if we had Kewpie on our shelves, we probably would've done something similar.