Potato salad will taste better with American granny's simple 'secret ingredient'. The summer staple won't taste bland or stodgy if you add an ingredient you likely already have on hand.
Using up a sack of potatoes before they begin turning green or developing shoots can prove quite challenging, especially if you've run out of inspiration. As we move into summer, it's an ideal opportunity to use up whatever spuds you have available and master the humble potato salad.
The go-to side dish of picnics and barbecues, potato salad is relatively straightforward to prepare. However, it also risks quickly becoming dull or simply gloopy. Some recipes have you experiment with incorporating Greek yoghurt or eschewing mayonnaise altogether.
A tangy addition, like mustard or capers, as Good Food recommends doing, can enhance potato salad. There is another ingredient you might consider trying that will revolutionise the dish and leave people clamouring for more.
In a piece for Southern Living, Kaitlyn Yarborough disclosed her grandmother's hidden ingredient for potato salads, revealing that its flavour goes beyond just mayonnaise and mustard. Most potato salads call for a sharp flavour — usually mustard, or even vinegar — to counterbalance the mayonnaise. Kaitlyn explained that the tang in her grandmother's potato salad that everyone can't get enough of is neither of these.
The secret ingredient in Kaitlyn's grandmother's recipe is, in fact, pickle juice, as reports the Express. Dill pickles, in particular, are often incorporated into potato salads to cut through the sauce and add a bit of crunch in contrast to the boiled potatoes.
However, you can also experiment by adding some of the pickle juice from the jar, which Kaitlyn noted lends the perfect amount of acidity and saltiness to the dish courtesy of the brine. Should you decide to incorporate this into your recipe, it's essential to avoid adding vinegar, as this risks the potato salad becoming excessively acidic.
Simply replace your vinegar with pickle juice, adding approximately five tablespoons, and doubling this quantity for a larger serving. You can then add your remaining ingredients as usual, including chopped pickles if you typically use them. Celery and shallots are equally popular additions, alongside spring onions and even pancetta for a delicious salad.
How to store potatoes
Waxy potatoes such as Yukon Gold or new potatoes are well-suited to potato salad, though proper storage is essential. Remove them from any plastic packaging and place them in a paper bag, or loosely in a basket, in a cool, dark spot in the kitchen. Keeping them away from onions and apples, which emit ethylene gas, will also help prevent them from deteriorating prematurely.
How do you make potato salad? Let us know in the comments.
