Did you know this about Kewpie, that absurdly delicious Japanese mayo?

Kewpie, the Japanese mayonnaise with a pronounced flavor that is simultaneously fresh and umami, really shouldn’t be missing from your kitchen if you truly love good food. According to our Sharon, it’s even the best mayo in the world! And the story behind this particularly good stuff?

Kewpie has a long, rich history, and one of the first things I learned about it was that you don’t pronounce it kjoepai, but kjoepíe! Q.P., in English! No idea, I had… And here are some more interesting facts about it:

Iconic feminine design

The name, and the design featuring the chubby baby, derive from the Kewpie dolls of the same name, which were designed at the beginning of the twentieth century by American illustrator and artist Rose O’Neill. O’Neill was a unique phenomenon in her own right: at a time when women barely participated in the workforce, she became known and famous for her drawings and art, and at one point was the highest-paid female illustrator in the world. She started with Kewpie characters (derived from the English Cupid) as comic-strip figures. Eventually, the charming little figures were also produced as dolls and became one of the first mass-produced toys in America. All of this took place between 1912 and 1920.

Do you have anything to declare?

And as it happens, this was also the time when Japanese Toichiro Nakashima, who traveled to America and Europe as a student of food production techniques and an intern after the First World War, founded his own company (Shokuhin Kogyo Co.) in Japan in 1925 upon his return, in order to put all the knowledge he had gained into practice. What he also brought back from America: a jar of mayonnaise. Until then an unknown product, he noticed that it did not immediately appeal to his fellow countrymen. So what did he do? He increased the amount of egg yolk and ultimately left out the egg white that was present in American mayo altogether. Kewpie is still made with only egg yolks and local Japanese vinegars and spices, which give it a unique, distinctive flavor.

And the design? Nakashima brought that idea back from his time in America, where the dolls were hugely popular at the time.

Kewpie’s popularity in Japan is still unrivaled, and by now many more countries around the world have fallen under the spell of this deliciousness!

Also read:

• Fill your Japanese pantry like this
• These are the expert tips for making perfect temaki (hand rolls) at home
• An ode to Zaanse mayonnaise

Source: Pogogi