Eggs and Mayonnaise

Fresh eggs have just as much free glutamate as pork, but they have no nucleotides to speak of. Cooked eggs have more glutamate than fresh eggs. The glutamate content of many simple dishes is increased by the synergistic umami that eggs can bring to them. These include comfort foods such as bacon and eggs, an open-face sandwich with hard-boiled eggs and marinated herring, and a hamburger patty with a fried egg on top.

Mayonnaise has some umami because it is made with eggs. It is an emulsion of oil and vinegar that is stabilized with proteins and fats from the lecithin found in eggs. This type of emulsion has a good mouthfeel and mouthcoating, which elicit an enhanced perception of umami. In Japanese mayonnaise, umami is enriched even more by the addition of pure MSG. One can also augment it by adding a dash of Worcestershire sauce to the mayonnaise.