Does Mayo Contain Pork? Examining a Common Condiment

Lamb Fat

As for the lamb, no matter how much I diluted the fat, the flavor is simply too powerful and the texture is just too heavy. If anyone wants to play with it at home and can think of a suitable application, Id be interested to hear it. The only use I can think of is in protecting your taste buds from the ravages of the merciless peppers of Quetzalacatenango.

It wasn’t until I was done testing and writing up my findings that I realized I forgot about the most obviously tasty variation: bacon.

Fiddling with Fats

So back to the question at hand: making mayonnaise out of animal fat.

Because beef fat is high in saturated fat, it is a waxy solid at room temperature. For my first try, I just melted some beef fat in the microwave, making sure to keep the temperature as low as possible so as not to cook the egg yolk. I made a mayonnaise exactly as I would have done with vegetable oil. The fat and water in the mayonnaise separated almost right away, and the smooth, shiny surface turned into the dull, matte texture of shortening right in front of my eyes.

OK, not a big deal, I thought. It’s possible for mayonnaise to break even though I haven’t done it in years. I tried again in the same way, and my emulsion broke again. When an experiment doesn’t work, I get very angry. This time, my wife had to tell me to stop yelling at the suet.

“Still mumbling, “damn you, beef fat,” under my breath, I hit the books looking for an answer”

I went to the library to find out why my emulsion wasn’t holding while mumbling under my breath, “damn you, beef fat.” McGee? Nothing. Corriher? Nothing. Wolke? Nothing. Not a single mention of animal fat emulsions in any of my go-to references.

I knew that the main difference between vegetable fats and animal fats is that animal fats have a lot more saturated fatty acids. Fatty acids are essentially a long chain of carbon molecules. In saturated fats, each of these carbon molecules has two hydrogen molecules bonded to it. These hydrogen molecules act kind of like a support system, keeping the fatty acids long and straight. While unsaturated fats have a straight shape, unsaturated fats have a curved shape because one or more of their carbon molecules lack one of their two hydrogen partners. Oddly enough, with fatty acids, threesomes are actually less kinky than pairs. The chart on the right shows the percentage of saturated fatty acids to total fatty acids in common fats. Butter has the highest percentage of saturated fats at 2062 percent, while olive oil has the lowest at 13 percent.

The shape of the molecules of saturated fat must have something to do with my mayo’s problems, since the only real difference between vegetable and animal fats is the amount of flavorful molecules they contain. But what was going on?

I emailed my friend Guy Crosby, an associate professor at Harvard and Framingham Universities and science editor at Cooks Illustrated for some answers. My hunch was right: shape is everything. Heres what he had to say.

With this in mind, finding the solution was simple. All I had to do was increase the ratio of unsaturated fat to saturated fat. The saturated fat molecules are less likely to come into contact with each other in a more diluted solution. This means they are less likely to form the crystalline structures that were getting in the way of my emulsion.

The more saturated fat there was in a rendered animal fat, the more vegetable oil I had to add to it. For some reason, this turned out to be good for the flavor. Highly saturated beef is strong enough that the spread still tastes like beef even after being diluted five to one with vegetable oil. I quickly whipped out three break-free animal-fat mayos, or meatonnaise, as Ill now refer to it.

So, you may be asking, how does it all taste in the end?

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FAQ

Does mayonnaise contain gelatin?

Does mayonnaise have animal products?

What contains in mayonnaise?

Which foods contain pork?

Many foods contain pork. The beloved ham, bacon, sausages, and pork chops are meat that comes from the pig itself. Furthermore, different pig parts can be broken down into elements used in food, such as gelatine or bone char. 100% pork products include pork steaks and chops, pork ribs, bacon, ham, and sausages.

Can one eat pork?

A cooked, medium pork cutlet or steak provides 239 calories, 34 grams protein, 10 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 697 milligrams sodium, and 0 grams carbohydrate, if you eat only the lean part of the steak. Pork contains many of the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) found in beef and it is high in protein, but can be lower in fat than beef—depending on cut and preparation. Meat from any kind of mammal, including pork, can cause an allergic reaction (and some people who are allergic to mammalian meat also react to poultry).

Does yogurt contain pork or pork products?

Although yogurt is more of a liquid substance, some manufacturers might use pork-derived gelatin to thicken a few different brands and types of yogurt. Instead of using pig fat or animal product emulsifiers, they use plant oils and plant-based ingredients.

Why is pork not recommended to eat?

This is not true, some cuts like sirloin and pork rump steak, for example, are very healthy, even healthier than beef and chicken. Only the fattest cuts like bacon and crackling should be avoided.