T2. Alna.
Naplus, Tunesia. February 2000. 1,350 dinar (€ 1,05) for 9 cl!!
In my latest Mayonnaise Label
Collection entry on Lesieux, I posted one of the very few labels I possess from
a Muslim country (Tunesia) and observed that the Golden Sauce is not exactly a staple
in Islamic cuisine. I also confessed that I had no ready explanation for that
lack of popularity. However, from time to time one does gain an impression by
looking at local practices; and today’s brand is a case in point.
For who can be surprised that Mayonnaise
never reaches broad national popularity if this
is how we market it?! Only 9 cl of sauce, for more than an €uro! That is almost
12 € per litre! La Veuve Clicquot is often cheaper! And where does all that
money go? What does it pay for? Well, not to buy ingredients of the highest
quality, I assure you! You are basically paying for the packaging. For only the
kitschy label and ditto cap are golden here, not the sauce itself. The matter
to emerge from this Lilliput jar was basically oil: liquid, tasteless, and most
lamentable. It served – grand total – one Oeuf Mayonaise. And did it no
great service.
Note that the little strip cut out of the
label was missing on purchase. Everybody may decide for himself what it
originally said. But note that there is no Sell By Date to be found anywhere
else… In short: some manufacturers are as unscrupulous as the retailers that
sell their products!
Post Scriptum: My good friend Azra Ali, who is
at present residing in Saudi Arabia, has told me she will look out for Saudi
Mayonnaise labels to add to the collection. Alfred B. Mittington’s heart
rejoices with the prospect. For what IS a collection of Mayonnaise labels that
falls so horridly short of items from North-Africa and the Middle East?
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