Every 4th of July, my entire family would hop into our Volkswagen Tiguan and drive up to southern Vermont where my retired grandparents lived during the summers. We would play in the pool until we were sunburned as red as lobsters. We would also light dozens of fireworks and see who could run away the quickest when the wind knocked them over into our direction. And of course, we did our civic duty and stuffed ourselves with food – LOTS of food.
My grandmother was a fantastic cook even though she was never trained at a culinary school. She could cook the whole gamut, from pork chops and pot roast, to roast beef and even dinosaur nuggets. But the dish I remember the most from those summer days spent at grandma’s house was her prized recipe: mayonnaise pudding.
Making mayonnaise pudding is a whole day affair. Often grandma would wake up at 3 am to begin the process in her usual routine. First she’d measure out several cups of mayonnaise (any brand will do). While she was letting that come up to temperature, she’d measure out her secret ratio of raisins and tomatoes.
To those who have never had mayonnaise pudding (yes, apparently mayonnaise pudding isn’t popular in all parts of the country), you may be questioning the tomato-raisin flavor combo. And I get that. But I know those of you who have had the dish can’t get that taste out of your heads and you have my back: it slaps. It’s kind of like black pepper and strawberry. Some things shouldn’t work but they just do.
Grandma would then measure out a few heaping tablespoons of baking soda, which is critical for the next step: aeration. Once everything is mixed into the bowl, grandma would whip the mixture with a large whisk – every 30 minutes.
You read that right. To get the mayonnaise pudding into that classic fluffy texture, you have to almost constantly whip the mixture. Mayonnaise doesn’t do a great job of capturing small air bubbles, so it’s essential to perform this step every 30 minutes to create that fluffiness. And thankfully grandma loved us as much as she did!
By 7 pm the mayonnaise pudding would be ready to serve, just in time for dessert. All the kids would dash over and start heaping it onto our plates. Grandma would serve it with whip cream and a cherry on top. One time all that was left for grandma was a small spoonful, but she said that’s all she wanted. I think one of her greatest joys in life was just watching her loved ones eat the fruits of her labor.
Mayonnaise pudding is just one of those dishes where homemade doesn’t compare to the store-bought or restaurant versions. This is because it needs to be made fresh and made with affection. Mayonnaise pudding is a gesture of love, and my grandma demonstrated her love to her grandchildren every summer.
