Oh Great, It's The Old Miracle Whip Vs. Mayo Debate Again
A discussion on Twitter yesterday sparked conversation about the divisive condiments.
Come on, guys. Miracle Whip isn't that big of a deal. It's just different from mayo, that's all. I'm referring to a debate I witnessed yesterday, when I noticed that "Miracle Whip" had shown up on Twitter's trending topics. (It showed up under the Entertainment category, which had me scratching my head.) Because I blindly click on stuff all the time, I took a peek, and found that the mayo chatter surrounded a specific tweet.
The inciting tweet was from actress Yvette Nicole Brown, who mentioned she uses Miracle Whip for her tuna salad. Her tweet said, "Solid Albacore tuna. Relish. Miracle whip. Hard boiled egg. Salt. Lots of pepper."
The tweet sparked a spirited discussion on social media about the merits of the fluffy, sweet spread versus rich, thick mayo. As you might have expected, plenty of people trash-talked Miracle Whip, because they're a bunch of haters. One tweet, garnering over 7,200 likes, was only five words: "Miracle Whip is sandwich abuse." That seems a little harsh, no? I could post a lot more hate, but that pretty much sums it up.
Responses supporting Miracle Whip are harder to find. Publisher Lisa Lucas tweeted, "Miracle Whip is trending and I can only assume that everyone finally figured out that it is so much better than traditional mayo on most occasions. Do not @ me. *drops mic*"
Then, of course, there's a third faction who are further in the minority: those who've never tried Miracle Whip. Reporter Sara Luterman tweeted, "I don't understand the difference between mayonnaise and Miracle Whip, and at this point I'm too embarrassed to ask." Hey, honesty is good. I learned today that two of my coworkers have either never had Miracle Whip, or haven't had it in so long that they don't remember what it tastes like.
As to be expected, there are also people who find that there's a time and place for both. I fall mainly in that category. I grew up on Miracle Whip, which is quite sweet and fluffy, and the sweetness does in fact lend itself to a great tuna, chicken, or egg salad. For those of you thinking, "Oh, a sugary chicken salad sounds putrid," if you've ever had a gas station or convenience store pre-made chicken salad sandwich, I have news for you: I used to work for a dry ingredients company that supplied pre-blended seasoning mixes for things like those salad sandwiches, and guess what? They're loaded with sugar.
Miracle Whip was always my mom's choice, as it's significantly lower in fat than mayo. When I grew up, I discovered mayo, which I usually prefer—but my future in-laws do make a seven-layer Miracle Whip salad that's unreasonably delicious.
I'd be remiss if I also didn't mention the fact that we've asked this question before. The fight comes up practically every year, somewhere on the internet. Anyway, I hate to open up this can of worms (again), but where do you fall on the Miracle Whip vs. mayo debate?