If You Grew Up Eating This Creamy After-School Sandwich, You're Probably A Boomer

Let's face it, if you were born between 1946 and 1964, you're a Boomer. For many of those estimated 76 million Americans, their parents likely had memories of the Great Depression, which didn't end until the start of World War II. To say "times were tough" is an understatement, as nearly 25% of the working population was unemployed. Food costs were sky high, and families struggled to eat even a single meal a day. But sometimes with adversity comes invention, and one of the cheapest food items — mayonnaise — offered a much-needed boost. Slathered between two slices of bread, mayonnaise provided a daily dose of carbs and fat, and this simple but satisfying sandwich became a staple as the U.S. was recovering economically. Children of the Depression made mayonnaise sandwiches for their own children for lunch and other after-school snacks that Boomers remember fondly today. 

Peanut butter was another one of many foods people ate during the Depression, and combining it with mayo offered some protein to the standard sandwich. Peanut butter wasn't always the creamy delight we grew up with. It was a pretty gnarly, thick goo, and some advised loosening it up to be more spreadable by moistening the bread first with mayonnaise. The mayo-peanut butter sandwich was so popular in the 1960s that Hellman's promoted its mayonnaise by recommending jazzed-up additions like bacon, pickles, fruits, marmalade, and even salami with cute names, like "Apple Fandango" and "Funny Face."

Mayonnaise sandwiches weren't just snacks for Boomers. In the Southern U.S., they've been eaten for generations and are still popular. Check out a few Southern recipes, and you'll probably find mayo as an ingredient. Mayonnaise sandwiches in the South can be made with just good ol' mayo between two slices of bread, but adding slices of tomatoes or pineapple, or a slice of American cheese, elevates it to a new level. 

Hellman's big rival in the mayo war is Duke's, which is creamier than other brands, including Hellman's, thanks to its abundance of egg yolks and no egg whites. It's flavored with apple cider vinegar rather than white vinegar and has no added sugar, which gives Duke's its distinctive tang and why it pairs so well with both sweet and savory foods. Devotion to Duke's in the South is so extreme that, allegedly, people have its image tattooed on their bodies, and there's even one report of a man who wanted a Duke's jar used as an urn for his cremated ashes. 

For some people, though, a mayonnaise sandwich has an ick factor, and its cholesterol-spiking fat content makes mayonnaise a controversial condiment. But you can get all chef-y with a mayo sandwich by using your own homemade sandwich bread and blending a bit of Dijon mustard or a squeeze of lemon juice into the mayonnaise, and instead of peanut butter, include a sliced hard-boiled egg as the topper. Suddenly, a formerly Boomer sandwich becomes lunch for any generation.