You'll Never Catch Rachael Ray With This Store-Bought Condiment In Her Kitchen

If you were to take a guess over which condiment is one of the most divisive, chances are mayonnaise might come to mind. People seem to either love or hate its taste and appearance. You can put Rachael Ray in the second category. The chef has flat out said she'll never ever buy a jar of mayonnaise from the store. In an interview with EatingWell, Ray said, "I hate store-bought mayonnaise." However, that doesn't mean Ray is anti-mayo in all cases. "I will eat aioli or mayonnaise all day long if I make it or if I know the person who made it, but I do not want shelf-stable," she added.

Ray isn't the only celebrity who is disgusted by mayonnaise. Barack Obama is known to have a distaste for the stuff, as is late-night host Jimmy Fallon. Fallon actually hates it so much, it teeters into a phobia of the condiment. "That is the worst thing in the entire world. It reminds me of puss," Fallon has said about mayonnaise on "The Tonight Show." Rihanna also isn't a fan, posting on X, "I HATE mayo."

What is it about the combination of egg yolks, vinegar, and oil that disgusts so many people? There might be a scientific reason if you can't handle it. For some people, mayo apparently reminds them of bodily fluids, specifically pus. Additionally, the texture can be off-putting. Mayonnaise wobbles and oozes, which may make you think of something rotting. This aversion may actually be a way of self protection from things that might make you sick.

As much as mayonnaise can be reviled, there is one place where it's a much beloved ingredient in many recipes: Russia. Russian cuisine includes mayonnaise in everything from salads to meat dishes. Try a few of the recipes from there, and you may want to start roasting your potatoes slathered in mayonnaise, as well. Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus also all regularly feature the condiment in recipes. Of course, you can't leave out the Netherlands, where french fries dipped in mayo is a classic for locals. And drinking mayonnaise was a thing in Japan, though the trend still hasn't — and at this rate won't — spread to America, despite the numerous popular mayonnaise brands on the market.