Julia Child Couldn't Hide Her Love For One Iconic Mayo Brand

Julia Child may have been known for her love of French cuisine, but that doesn't mean she didn't reach for some store-bought favorite brands, too. Even though she had her very own recipes for classic French condiments such as mayonnaise, she was still fond of one particular brand of mayo, which she always used on her tuna salad sandwiches: Hellmann's. (Sorry, Duke's lovers.)

Child made her tuna salad with the same basic blueprint every time. She'd start with an oil-packed can of fish, added lemon juice, capers, cornichons, onions, and celery, and would then would season the mixture with salt and pepper. The whole sandwich was dressed with lettuce, tomato, and on occasion, more onions, and served either open-faced on English muffins or between two slices of Pepperidge Farm white bread. 

But it wouldn't be the same sandwich filling without the Hellmann's mayonnaise. It's nice to know that even TV chefs find comfort in the same shortcuts we do — I bet lots of you have Hellmann's sitting in the fridge right now. (I know I do.)

When Child made her own mayonnaise, she kept it really simple (and doing so, with high quality ingredients, helps you to avoid unnecessary mayonnaise mistakes). In a 1966 episode of her public television cooking show, "The French Chef" — titled, appropriately enough, "The Mayonnaise Show" — she told viewers that her version only contained egg yolks, salt, mustard powder, either a touch of lemon juice or wine vinegar (or both), and an oil of your choice. She also cautioned against using only straight olive oil, because Its fruity flavor could potentially overpower anything you're eating it with. Child instead liked to combine a neutral oil with a bit of olive oil.

Child would either whip the mayonnaise together by hand or use a device such as a blender to finish it off. But even though homemade mayonnaise is actually a fairly easy thing to make, you can't beat the convenience of having your own store-bought favorite in the fridge, too. Especially for your favorite tuna sandwiches. And if you're hoping to make yours like Julia Child, just make sure you use the Hellmann's, because that would be the one she'd tell you to get.