Hellmann’s mayo on the table – why not?

Mrs Clegg’s cup of rioja but to us it was up there with jeans, fridges and rock ’n’ roll as a life-changer. By the 1980s it was everywhere, deep in the national arteries. Salads had changed too. Soon you actually had to choose what sort of lettuce you wanted.

In 1999 Heinz planned to discontinue Salad Cream. But a frenzied campaign spearheaded (spearheaded?) by Roy Hattersley saved it for the nation. Quite right too. It’s a national institution, like the England football team – that was popular in 1966 too. Now they’ve brought in another big lad (Sam) to save that.

I am sure the González Durántez mayonnaise is very good and, from what I gather, Samantha’s Hellmann’s wasn’t even in a jar, it was in a squeezy tube, so I can see why that was the last such invitation she accepted. But wait a minute, should mayonnaise of any sort be allowed into Downing Street?

Apparently it was invented by the French chef of the Duke of Richelieu in 1756 as the sauce for a feast to celebrate the French victory over the British at Port Mahon in Minorca in the Seven Years’ War. Minorca had been under British control but it has been a Spanish possession since 1783. Minorca, Mahon, mayonnaise – it’s a Spanish thing.

To Miriam González Durántez, Nick Clegg’s better half and mayonnaiseuse supreme, we say “hasta la vista baby”.

Place 4 egg yolks in a bowl. Add 2tsp mustard and 1tbsp vinegar. Add olive oil, whisking thoroughly between each addition, until the sauce emulsifies and thickens after a few minutes.