Potato Salad Comparison

[mific]

I thought it’d be interesting to compare potato salad recipes. It’s seen as such an American dish now although it originally came from Germany I think. It’s a favourite dish for me, as I love spuds.

I’m not doing the usual recipe structure as the ingredients vary a lot depending on what I have to hand.

When I make it I clean but never peel the potatoes (usually a Yukon Gold type) and I cut them fairly chunky, about an inch across. I chop them before steaming or boiling them, as it’s easier. If I’m being organised I then cool any hot veg down in the fridge. If I’m really hungry I have a warm salad. :)

I may cook other veggies in with the potatoes, the commonest being frozen peas, or sometimes frozen corn, sometimes chopped fresh green beans or asparagus, depends what I have.

Other common uncooked ingredients are diced red capsicum (bell pepper), and diced spring onions or red onion. I also almost always add a handful of grated sharp cheddar.

For the dressing I usually mix up 50:50 lite mayo and lite oil-vinegar type of salad dressing, then add 1 tsp sweetener or honey. I grew up on 1960s Kiwi salad dressing made by mixing sweet condensed milk, mustard and brown vinegar, so I like my salad dressing a bit sweet. Finally, salt to taste, and ground black pepper. Yum.

How do you guys make potato salad? How different is it?

Comments

[runpunkrun]

Common potato salad add ins in my house: bell pepper, red onion or shallot, celery, olives, dill pickles, fresh parsley. That's cold with a tangy mayo/yogurt dressing.

Lately we've been having hot potato salad, closer to a German potato salad, where you pour an oil & vinegar dressing over hot potato cubes, and smother it in chopped parsley. The hot potatoes suck up the dressing and get kind of creamy.

Yes! That creamy moment is the best.

[jesse_the_k]

Olive oil and red-wine vinegar. We go big on the flat-leaf Italian parsley. To contrast with those comforting flavors, finish with sliced cornichons or black olives or both.

Re: Yes! That creamy moment is the best.

[runpunkrun]

Yesss, flat leaf parsley all the way.

[rosefox]

I do a German-ish potato salad too.

5 Idaho potatoes or other mealy/crumbly (not waxy) potatoes
2 large cucumbers
4 celery stalks

Dressing:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to taste

Peel and quarter the potatoes, and cut into half-inch slices. Put in water that's already boiling. Boil for 15 minutes.

Peel and quarter the cucumbers (scooping out and discarding the seeds), and cut into half-inch slices. Chop celery into cute little bridges. There should be about equal mass of potatoes and veg.

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Sample with spare cucumber bits and adjust as needed. The combination of vinegar and mustard should be potent enough to make you sweat a little; you need a strong dressing to stand up to the starch of the potatoes.

When timer goes off, confirm that potato pieces are cooked all the way through; they should be somewhat crumbly around the edges and fall apart when you poke a fork into them. Drain them and put them in a big mixing bowl. Add the cucumber and celery, and mix with a wooden spoon. The potatoes will appear to disintegrate; this is normal. Don't panic. When everything seems well-mixed, pour in the vinaigrette. Mix some more until everything is soaked with dressing. Lick spoon. Make happy noises.

Serve hot, or chill and serve cold; it's good either way.

If you're making it to serve to other people, make sure to take a helping for yourself first. I once brought this potato salad to a party, went to wash my hands, and came back to find an empty bowl and a lot of people who wanted the recipe.

The honey and Worcestershire make this non-vegan. You can use vegan Worcestershire if you want—I've never tried it but I hear it exists and is pretty good—and instead of using a strongly sour balsamic + honey, use a sweeter and more syrupy aged balsamic and adjust the proportions as needed.

[lunabee34]

I peel and cube up potatoes (boil), add in raw diced onion and celery, mix in some chopped eggs if I have any hard boiled, put in some dill relish, stir in some mayonnaise and some yellow mustard.

I also do one where I peel and cube up potatoes (boil), fry up bacon, put a mixture of bacon grease and vinegar on the hot potatoes, and crumble the bacon on top with chopped parsley.

Helen's recipe & her granddaughter's variation.

[agoodwinsmith]

My maternal grandmother's recipe. Hardboil eggs and leave them to cool in cold water while the peeled cubed potatoes cook. Drain potatoes and add raw chopped cooking onion. Make dressing with mayonnaise, prepared yellow mustard, paprika, celery seed (seed, not salt), salt and pepper. Mix dressing into potato mix. Peel and cut eggs bite sized. Add them to potato mix and fold in gently. Serve warm or cold, but flavour improves over time. Can be decorated with chopped chives and more paprika.

My version. Don't peel potatoes. Cook the chopped onions with the potato because I can't eat raw onion any more. Carry on as before. Yellow (French's) mustard and celery seed and paprika crucial.

One can make a tolerable version with cauliflower for the potato and tofu for the egg. As long as one doesn't pretend it is potato salad, it is pretty good.

[nerakrose]

potato salad is a huge part of the diet in Scandinavia and I love it. I don't like the storebought types as they usually have fresh onion in (I am mildly allergic) and also the texture of the dressing and the boiled potatoes can...uh...vary...between brands. there's one from Aldi or Lidl (German supermarkets) that I like, but I can't remember off the top of my head which one it is - I'll know it when I see it in the store...

ANYWAY, my favourite is the one I make myself. :p

potatoes, peeled, chopped, boiled, cooled down
mayonnaise (hellman's or similar good brand, or homemade)
sour cream (18% fat - has to be a tangy kind of sour cream and not basically cream, but thick)
sweet french mustard (I think in other parts of the world this might be known as yellow mustard)
salt
pepper
a massive amount of fresh chives, chopped semi-finely (I use scissors)

No set quantity, this is a gefühl recipe. mayonnaise/sour cream is something like 1 part mayonnaise to 2 parts sour cream, but you've got to taste it to get the right texture and flavour. for 2 kilos of potatoes I probably use half a (200g) jar of hellman's and 500ml sour cream - I want my potato salad to have enough dressing that I can swirl my grilled sausage in it and scoop it up as a sauce. the mustard should give a bit of colour and flavour - I just squeeze the bottle into the mix and taste as I go. 1-2 tablespoons? When everything is mixed, leave in fridge overnight or at least for a couple of hours before serving.


Another potato salad which I call my winter potato salad because I only make it in winter (the other one is strictly spring/summer), is this:
homemade mayonnaise with cayenne pepper (my homemade mayos are always runnier than storebought, so ideal for this, and I always add cayenne pepper when I make mayo)
caramellised onions
crispy bacon
You only need enough mayo to lightly coat the potatoes, and then you drizzle the salad with the caramellised onions and crispy bacon.

many similarities

[harmonic_tabby]

I generally chunk my potatoes, too, before cooking. I may peel them, it depends on what I'm using because I find russet skins distracting.

My recipe, which came from my grandmother and uses her secret ingredient, is pretty basic and simple.
Cubed potatoes
Sliced celery
Diced onion; can be yellow, white or scallions depending on what's available
Mayonnaise
Salt
and the secret ingredient is celery seed.

I've never used a red onion and now I wonder why? I don't usually add anything else because I like my potato salad to be about the potatoes. I dislike pickles entirely although I eat them if people serve them to me so most commercial potato salads at the grocery store in the USA leave me unenthused. And then finding one that is gluten free is another quest, sigh.

There is one made by a local food enterprise that is both pickle and gluten free called baked potato salad which is really good. It is made with red potatoes, some diced onion and a sour cream based dressing.

Interesting question and intriguing answers.

[j00j]

Vegan avocado potato salad: https://www.theppk.com/2011/05/creamy-avocado-potato-salad/

My mom's family's warm German potato salad with gluten free roux.
Note: This existed purely in her head until we got her to write it up and I think we've finally got all the ingredients, but amount of potatoes and scallions depends on how much potato salad you want, and I haven't made this enough to give you good guestimates.
Also note: The "shake it in a container" roux method is classic My Mom (for the full experience use an empty margarine container you've saved in case it could come in handy) and I do this with corn starch and water, but your typical roux would involve cooking the rice flour in the oil/grease until golden brown. That's what I'd do for a GF gravy, but I haven't done that with this recipe and I have no idea if it would significantly change the result. You want a moderately thick gravy situation.

Ingredients:
Red or yellow potatoes
Bacon [German recipe= pork bacon. I recommend beef bacon if you're no pork, I've tried it with the Morningstar farms veg bacon, I could also see a coconut bacon working]
Scallions
Rice flour or corn starch [disclaimer: I haven't tried with this recipe but rice flour has given me the best roux results in other sauces and gravies.]
cider vinegar
brown sugar
salt
pepper


Boil potatoes in their skins (yellow or red are best; don't use the Idaho bakers) until you can pierce with fork but they should not be falling apart. Cool enough to peel (I usually hold them up with a fork and peel with a knife if they are too hot). Cut into cubes and place in bowl large enough to hold sauce later. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix.

Wash and chop scallions.

Fry bacon and cool on paper towel. Save some of the grease; add just a little oil if you have used turkey or veg bacon.

In grease/oil, wilt chopped green onions. Add a couple tablespoons of cider vinegar & 1 or 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Stir. 

Prepare flour roux: In small container with tight lid, mix 1/4 - 1/3 cup of rice flour with 1/2 - 3/4 cup of water. (less cornstarch works but result is quickly too thick and I don't like the texture as well) Shake well so the roux isn't lumpy.

Add roux slowly to frying pan with sauteed onions and stir constantly until smooth and thick. You can add more water or broth if it's too thick.

Add to potatoes in bowl and mix carefully. Add crumbled bacon and serve.

When done, pour over diced & seasoned cooked potatoes. Just salt & pepper.

[mific]

So many interesting recipes and versions! I should clarify that when I'm making potato salad it's a main meal for me by itself, not a side-dish, and any quantities mentioned are just for a 1-person serving. I used to have bits of bacon or ham in it, but am eating less meat these days, hence the cheese. I plan to try it with some veggie 'bacon' bits, as well.