Duke's Mayonnaise facts for kids
Duke's Mayonnaise is a popular condiment (a sauce or seasoning for food). It was created by Eugenia Duke in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1917.
Duke's Mayonnaise is one of the biggest mayonnaise brands in the United States. It is especially loved in the South. People use it in many classic Southern dishes. These include coleslaw, tomato sandwiches, deviled eggs, pimento cheese, and potato salad. Duke's Mayonnaise is special because it has more egg yolks than other mayonnaises. It also has no added sugar.
How Duke's Mayonnaise Started
In August 1917, Eugenia Duke and her daughter Martha started a small business. They sold sandwiches at Army canteens run by the YMCA. This helped them earn money for their family.
Soldiers at a nearby training camp, Camp Sevier, loved her sandwiches. They especially liked the mayonnaise she used! Soon, many customers asked her to sell just the mayonnaise. So, around 1923, Eugenia began bottling her special mayonnaise.
Her business grew quickly. By November 1928, Eugenia Duke was famous enough to speak at a Mayonnaise Manufacturer's Convention in Boston. She couldn't make enough mayonnaise to meet everyone's demand. Because of this, she sold her company to the C. F. Sauer Company in 1929.
Duke's Mayonnaise Today
In 1929, the C.F. Sauer Company in Richmond, Virginia, bought Duke's products. Duke's Mayonnaise then became their most important product. The main factory for Duke's is in Mauldin, South Carolina. This factory was even shown on an episode of How It's Made in 2011.
In 2017, the state of South Carolina honored Duke's Mayonnaise. They celebrated its 100th birthday! By then, Duke's Mayonnaise was sold all over the United States. It was also available in New Zealand, Australia, and the Middle East. In 2017, the Sauer company also started selling it in Latin America.
In 2019, a company called Falfurrias Capital Partners bought C.F. Sauer. This included the Duke's brand.
About Eugenia Duke
Eugenia Thomas Slade Duke was born in October 1881 in Columbus, Georgia. She passed away in 1968. She created Duke's Mayonnaise in 1917 in Greenville, South Carolina.
When Eugenia was 18, she married Harry Cuthbert Duke in 1900. They moved to Greenville. Eugenia was very active in helping women get the right to vote. She supported the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
After selling her mayonnaise company, Eugenia Duke moved to California. She followed her only child, Martha, there. In California, Eugenia started new businesses. She opened the Duchess Sandwich Company and the Duchess Catering Company.
See also
- Duke's Mayo Bowl
- Duke's Mayo Classic
- List of mayonnaises
