I grew up eating Miracle Whip and white bread at home ... and Mom even bought that disgusting stuff with added Lemon juice. I only got real mayo and wheat bread when I went to grandma's house.
When I went off to college and bought my first jar of Hellmans Mayo - I never went back (and I started buying wheat bread, too!) I must confess that a few months ago I did buy a small jar of Miracle Whip and a loaf of white bread ... looking to recapture a childhood comfort food moment (a Miracle Whip wish sandwich .... lots of Miracle Whip between 2 slices of white bread - and wishing we had a slice of bologna). It just wasn't the same.
Yes, there IS a difference in the flavors - look at the ingredients for both (and their order):
Miracle Whip Ingredients: WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, VINEGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, EGGS YOLKS, SALT, MUSTARD FLOUR, ARTIFICIAL COLOR, POTASSIUM SORBATE AS A PRESERVATIVE, SPICE, PAPRIKA, NATURAL FLAVOR, DRIED GARLIC.
Hellmans Mayo Ingredients: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT, SUGAR, LEMON JUICE, NATURAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (USED TO PROTECT QUALITY).
Obviously - Hellmans Mayo is more eggy, less sweet and less acetic than Miracle Whip. Guess that's why I like it better. But, then, I also don't go squeezing lemon all over my fish as soon as it hits the table like some people do ... I want to taste the fish!