Mayonnaise and Derivatives

In 1756, the Duke of Richelieu held a celebratory dinner after the French capture of Mahon on the Spanish island of Minorca. It is said that the presiding chef was out of cream for his sauce and added a substitution of olive oil—the resulting sauce was purportedly the first cold emulsion using eggs, oil, and vinegar. Named mahonnaise after the town of Mahon, the sauce, through successive misspellings, became known as mayonnaise.