We have all spent our adult lives living in abject fear that if we leave the potato salad out too long, we will get sick from eating it, because the mayonnaise will go bad. If we do, indeed, get sick after a picnic, wherein lay a suspicious bowl of potato salad, we immediately blame said potato salad.
Poor thing.
You know it's been falsely accused, don't you?
Years before Hellmann's and Best Foods arrived on the scene, mayonnaise was made fresh, rapidly whisking together oil, raw egg yolks, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and other optional ingredients. With this delicious condiment came the risk of salmonella poisoning, since raw egg yolks were being used. Once mayo became a hot commodity, around the turn of the 20th century, the companies mentioned above began mass producing it. But in order to safely seal mayonnaise in jars for long-term storage, the ingredients and the jars first had to be sterile. So commercial mayonnaise, when you open the jar, is sterile. Any possible trace of salmonella in properly canned mayonnaise is gone.
Naturally, mayonnaise, like just about any other food, can spoil if left out long enough, but generally speaking, you may officially feel safe when eating slightly warm potato salad at your next party. Isn't that life-changing? And if you do get sick after that party, blame the shrimp kabobs. They don't mind.
