During the hot summer months, potato salad is a common side at barbecues, reunions, beach parties or any other social event. As someone planning to attend the event, the idea of how to make potato salad might arise. Fortunately, a potato salad is a fairly easy project even for beginners.
How to Make Potato Salad – Picking Potatoes
The most important element of making a potato salad is the potato selection. Before starting your project, determining which potatoes to use will determine the best option for the method of making potato salad.
When considering how to make potato salad, start by selecting a potato with high moisture content. The best potatoes for the salad are usually Yellow Finn, Yukon Gold or plain red potatoes. Avoid drier varieties like russets. A dry potato does not come out as well for salad and might even ruin the recipe.
The other consideration related to the selection of potatoes is whether to use the skins or peel them. Keeping or peeling the skins is a personal choice, but if the skins remain, scrub the potato thoroughly to remove dirt on the outside.
How to Make Potato Salad – Creamy Style Salad
Two types of potato salad are available: creamy or vinegar-based. A creamy potato salad mixes mayonnaise into the salad and is the most basic type of potato salad.
If you’re still wondering how to make potato salad with mayonnaise, consider the ingredients you prefer before mixing anything. Potato salad has numerous tastes and variations. You should decide which spices to add before mixing for personal preferences.
Good options for creamy style salads include dill, chives, parsley, basil and rosemary. After the spices, consider if you want a touch of Dijon mustard for a hint of spice. The vegetables are also important. Consider adding celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, olives, onions or artichoke hearts. Hard boiled eggs are also often added to potato salad for an interesting taste.
Prepare the potatoes by cutting them into bite-sized pieces and then boiling until they are softened, but not mushy. Usually 8 to 10 minutes is enough. Larger pieces might need as long as 15 minutes to fully cook.
Mix the mayonnaise with your preferred spices, vegetables and eggs. Only after the other ingredients are mixed, add the potatoes.
How to Make Potato Salad – Vinegar-based or German Salad
Vinegar-based potato salad, which is also called German potato salad, does not use mayonnaise. The base ingredient is some type of vinegar and oil instead.
Start with selecting your ingredients. For a vinegar-based salad, pick out a cider vinegar of your choice and oil. Olive oil is a great option for a healthy salad. Once the vinegar is picked out, select a type of mustard or consider sour cream or plain yogurt. Mustard, sour cream or yogurt is not required, but they add a little texture to the salad. Next select the spices. The best spices for vinegar based potato salads include basil, oregano, thyme, sage or rosemary. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and some vegetables before mixing the ingredients together. Some boiled eggs add flavor and are always appropriate.
Mix in your boiled potatoes last and then taste the salad. Adjust vinegar or spices to your taste. If you like baked potatoes instead, read our article: how long to bake a potato.
How to make potato salad is simple and a little experimentation results in the perfect salad for your tastes.