Miracle Whip

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Miracle Whip is a salad dressing and sandwich spread, invented in Salem, Illinois at Max Crosset's Cafe. It was originally called Max Crossett's X-tra Fine Salad Dressing. Crosset sold it to Kraft Foods in 1931 for $300 (about $4000 in 2006 dollars)^[1]^[2] Kraft still manufactures it today. It is advertised as having the taste of mayonnaise with half the fat.

According to the Kraft Foods web site, Miracle Whip debuted at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, during the height of the Great Depression. Not only was it tasty, but it was inexpensive, making it very appealing to consumers.

The Kraft Foods site also explains that "the Miracle Whip" was inventor Charles Chapman's informal name for his patented "emulsifying machine" that was originally used to blend the ingredients in the mayonnaise-like product.^[3]

1 International Availability
2 Competition with Mayonnaise
3 Trivia
4 Miracle Whip in Popular Culture
5 References
6 External link

[edit] International Availability

In addition to the USA and Canada Miracle Whip is available in the following other major markets^[4]:

Australia
Ecuador
Germany
Italy
Mexico
Panama
Philippines
Spain
Venezuela

Miracle Whip is also being sold in the United Kingdom by national supermarket chain Tesco via import from Kraft Foods Germany, this product is not currently marketed by Kraft Foods UK or available in other stores.

[edit] Competition with Mayonnaise

Miracle Whip is a common substitution for Mayonnaise in many recipes and uses. The use of one product over the other is a sort of rivalry in the culinary world between proponents of Miracle Whip and Mayonnaise loyalists with all the heat indicative of a product feud. The rivalry between the two ingredients has become a part of regional culture, as certain areas of the U.S. prefer one product over the other in the making of specific dishes. For example, certain parts of the country (such as Upstate New York) use Miracle Whip almost exclusively in fruit salads and potato salads, while in other parts of the country (such as Downstate New York) use mayonnaise. Many recipes go as far to specifically denounce the alternative choice, such as "3 cups of Mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)" or even specifically recommending Hellmann's brand mayonnaise. Other cooks use Miracle Whip as the "secret ingredient" to their pasta salad or other recipe, using it instead of mayonnaise and giving it a distinctly different flavor.

[edit] Trivia

People have found other uses for Miracle Whip, including using it as a hair conditioner and skin moisturizer.^[5]

[edit] Miracle Whip in Popular Culture

Rapper Kanye West references the product in his song "Last Call" on his debut album, The College Dropout. The line referenced is "I'm killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit / Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips."