TASTE-TEST : Mayonnaise

If you think all commercial mayonnaises taste the same, you clearly have never done a mayonnaise taste-test. When the Times food staff got three groups of mayonnaise--regular, reduced calorie and reduced cholesterol--together for a blind tasting, we found that they not only look different, but that the flavor changes dramatically between one brand and the next.

We also found that there is no comparison between the regular variety and its reduced-calorie and reduced-cholesterol counterparts. The best of the reduced-calorie mayonnaises are really quite acceptable, but you have to work hard to like the cholesterol-free versions.

Mayonnaise, Regular

Brand: Comments 1. Best Foods: “Just fine,” wrote one taster, which pretty much sums up what most of us felt about our first place winner. This is a thick mayonnaise, with an attractively creamy color; it is the only one of the group that tastes strongly of egg yolk. 2. Kraft: This glossy mayonnaise ran a strong second place. “Nice lemony flavor,” wrote one taster; “well balanced” wrote another. 3. Hollywood Safflower: This mayonnaise had an oily flavor and a slightly greasy feel, but it was still much better than the two mayonnaises in last place. 4. Chalif Perfectly Plain: Very yellow and very soft, this was both sweet and salty and slightly unbalanced. 5. Hain: Very thick, with a gray-brown cast, this was greasy and sweet.

Mayonnaise, Reduced Calorie

Brand (Calories/Tablespoon): Comments 1. Kraft Light (50): Very white, almost translucent, with a pleasantly neutral flavor. Remarkable mainly because it’s so unremarkable. 2. Best Foods light (50): Creamy color, strong mustard flavor. 3. Smart Beat (40): Very yellow, with a gluey or pasty texture. 4. Weight Watchers Light (50): Oily, slightly gelatinous, with a mustard flavor.

Mayonnaise, Low Cholesterol

These were universally terrible. Almost every comment said something like “horrid,” and the most effusive compliment was “the least offensive of the lot.” But calorie-watchers might want to compare the calorie-counts here to the ones above. (Regular mayonnaise has about 100 calories per tablespoon.)

Brand: Calories/Tablespoon 1. Kraft Free: 8 1. Best Foods: 50 3. Hain Eggless: 110