I saw there was an 8-car pile-up on a freeway in Osaka a few days ago, which resulted in three minor injuries. The cause of the accident was a huge spill of Kewpie mayonnaise that happened when several boxes of the condiment fell off a truck, spilling their contents on the road and creating a big slippery mess. The Japanese are great lovers of mayonnaise, and eat more than 3.5 lbs of the stuff each year. Not only is it enjoyed along with ketchup on french fries (mix them together, it’s really good), it’s an important flavoring in many traditional foods like yakisoba noodles, takoyaki octopus balls and okonomiyaki. Mayonnaise can also be found on pizza, usually combined with corn, and while I’ve come to love many of the foods found in Japan, I still can’t get excited about that one.
The Japanese really love mayonnaise. I do too, mostly.
