By pure coincidence, I was sent a bunch of different mayonnaise’s to sample so Mr Flavour and I decided to compare and contrast for this Flavour Taste Lab!

I was sent samples of different mayonnaise from Ballymaloe Foods and Too Savage. I also had a jar of Builin Blasta in the fridge, so I thought it would be fun to compare and contrast these five different mayonnaises based on look, aroma, taste and mouthfeel. They were all very different, and some hit better than others.

I also want to shout out to food entrepreneur Conor Bacon who is the founder of Too Savage, a plant-based condiment business. We reviewed his Smoked Garlic Mayo and Wasabi Mayo – the latter Conor is collaborating with Irish Wasabi grown by Beotanics in County Kilkenny.

We sampled the mayo’s from the most mild to the most intense. Here are our thoughts!

Ballymaloe Food Deliciously Irish Mayo

This mayonnaise is made using free range eggs produced in Ireland and flavoured with cracked black pepper.

There’s a strong vinegar aroma from the mayonnaise, but on tasting there was a very definite flavour of eggs and black pepper. This might sound obvious, but there are plenty of products out there that don’t taste of what they say they’re made of! The mouthfeel is creamy and quite heavy but also satisfying. The colour is off-white, possibly due to the Dijon mustard but also because the egg to water ratio is better than some other mass produced mayonnaise.

VERDICT: We both really liked this mayonnaise! 8/10

Ballymaloe Mayo

Builín Blasta Smoked Onion Mayo

This mayonnaise is rarely out of stock in our fridge. It’s so good and versatile.

This mayonnaise had a less vinegary aroma to the first one, but had a similar texture although less oily and therefore a little lighter. We couldn’t taste the eggs as much, but you could really taste the deeply savoury flavour of the smoked onion powder.

VERDICT: Hard to beat! 8.5/10

https://builinblasta.com/shop/smoked-onion-mayonnaise

Too Savage Garlic Mayo

This mayonnaise is plant-based which means there are no eggs in it (interesting) and so suitable for vegans.

This mayonnaise has an interesting colour possibly from the roast garlic, but has quite a powerfully vinegary aroma. The taste is very fun though and reminds us very much of the garlic mayo that gets slathered on your chips from the chipper! It’s less smokey than expected with a rawer flavour of garlic – hence the similarity to the chipper garlic mayo, and we found it quite salty.

VERDICT: Perfect accompaniment to Chipper Chips! 7.5 /10

https://toosavage.ie/collections/all

Ballymaloe Foods Truffle Mayo

This is their special seasonal mayonnaise that’s only available in the lead up to Christmas until stocks last. It’s got a bit of legendary status among those who look forward to its reappearance. It’s made with real Black Summer Truffles from Italy.

This truffle mayonnaise is not for the faint hearted! It is very strong on the nose with that unmistakable aroma of truffle! It has a whipped appearance – it looks and smells like a rich, indulgent product! Now, Mr Flavour is not great with mushrooms but he gave it a go and found the truffle flavour too intense for him. I too found it intense, but I could definitely see this gracing the St Stephen’s Day table with slices of Spiced Beef and a big bowl of fries!

VERDICT: Split decision! Mr Flavour gave it a 5, but I thought it more a 6/10. It boils down to whether you love things flavoured with truffle or not. A quality product though!

Limited Edition! Ballymaloe Truffle Mayo

Too Savage Wasabi Mayo

Plant-based again from Too Savage, and flavoured with Irish wasabi grown by Beotanics in County Kilkenny – and I love a good collab!

Opening the jar reveals a mayonnaise with a very definite green hue! On the nose, the aroma of the wasabi is light which might lead you to think that a light flavour will follow, but you’d be very wrong! There’s that similar bang of vinegar we picked up from the smoked garlic mayo however, and texturally is different as the wasabi has been grated fresh from the root into the mayonnaise base which means this is a somewhat crunchy mayonnaise! There is heat in this though which starts slowly at the back of the throat and rises up to the nose, but it’s more of a classic horseradish burn than what I would typically identify as the intensity of fresh wasabi.

VERDICT: Texturally, this is a bit more challenging if you’re expecting a smooth mayo. 6.5/10. However, if you’re vegan, this verdict would be much higher for the pure joy of finding a fun and tasty plant-based mayo.

Irish Grown Wasabi Box (2 jars)

Thanks for checking out this Flavour Taste Lab post!

Kate