Heavy Duty Mayo Is The Rich Condiment Variation You Never Knew You Needed

We all know about mayo, but have you ever heard of heavy-duty mayo? (Yep, it's a thing.) This extra-strength condiment is a bit of a restaurant industry secret. Food manufacturers claim that the stuff stays creamier, grilled cheese gets browner, and sandwiches taste more savory with heavy-duty mayo than with the standard issue stuff.

But what is it? The truth is, the "heavy duty" in heavy-duty mayo isn't FDA-regulated, so it depends on the brand. But normally, heavy-duty mayonnaise, also known as extra heavy mayonnaise, is just mayo with more egg. The natural richness and binding properties of those eggs can make mayo a workhorse in the kitchen.

To make sure you're getting the real, eggy deal, check the nutrition label, which lists ingredients in weight order. For example, Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise lists  liquid whole egg yolk somewhere far down the list of ingredients, while Hellmann's Extra Heavy Mayonnaise lists both whole eggs (the second ingredient) and egg yolks. Read: More eggs, plus higher up in the ingredient list, equals heavy-duty mayo. 

Ready to buy that rich, creamy mayo? Don't go looking at your local grocery store. You'll need to go to a restaurant supply store for this under-the-radar ingredient. Plus, here's how to use it most effectively in the kitchen.

To understand why restaurants might opt for heavy-duty mayonnaise, it helps to understand what mayonnaise is exactly. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of egg, oil, and acid. That magic mix creates a creamy condiment with a savory flavor. And it's fairly sturdy, too. Egg yolks are rich in lecithin, a natural binder. HuffPost describes the result as a kind of "food glue." Because heavy-duty mayo has more egg, it also has more binding power. 

When high-volume, fast-paced restaurants serve something like a traditional tuna salad, they're usually not making it fresh to order. They're mixing up a massive vat, then scooping it out as needed. An extra gluey, bindy mayo is desirable. Enter heavy-duty mayo. It helps the tuna salad stay tuna salad, instead of turning into chunks of fish swimming in mayonnaise soup, according to The Takeout. Mayonnaise haters, kindly pause your retching.

Heavy-duty mayo might also help with browning. "The proteins within eggs can participate in the Maillard reaction when exposed to heat, producing a desirable brown color," explains The Incredible Egg. That's why mayo can give you a better grilled cheese: Spreading it on bread promotes perfect browning.

Heavy-duty mayo isn't something you can buy at most grocery stores. The target market for heavy-duty mayonnaise isn't the home cook: It's restauranteurs. To buy it, you need to shop where they do: The restaurant supply store. Failing that, there's a chance your local Costco will stock it — just be prepared to cart out a 30-pound tub.

If all that sounds like a lot of effort for some extra eggy mayo, you could just switch mayonnaise brands instead. Duke's has a higher egg-to-oil ratio than most other mayos on the market, while Kewpie mayo contains as much as four egg yolks per 500 grams! That extra egg content makes these brands behave more like heavy-duty mayo than the competition.

Plus, you can always transform your mayo into a heavy-duty version yourself. Whip up an egg yolk, then slowly add your mayonnaise to it until it has seamlessly incorporated into the mixture. Congratulations: You're ready to make an extra sturdy tuna salad.