Duke’s Mayonnaise | South Carolina Public Radio

“D” is for Duke’s Mayonnaise. Duke’s Mayonnaise is one of the South’s favorite condiments. Around 1917, Eugenia Duke mixed her first batch of mayonnaise in her Greenville home. Unlike similar commercial products, hers did not contain any sugar, nor did she whip egg whites as filler. And, thanks to her use of cider vinegar, her mayonnaise had a pleasing tartness. She started her business selling sandwiches to soda fountains and corner groceries. During World War I she expanded her enterprise to selling sandwiches to servicemen at nearby Fort Sevier. Soon soldiers from around the country wrote asking for jars of her specialty. Her business expanded rapidly and in 1923 she opened a manufacturing plant in Greenville. In 1929, Mrs. Duke sold her mayonnaise-manufacturing plant in Greenville and her prized recipe to the C.F. Sauer Company.