Why do people like potato salad?

Most people are familiar with potato salad because it has long been a standard at family picnics and other summer activities. Everyone has their own idea of how to make it though, and if you look through cookbooks and through recipe sites online, you are going to find hundreds of different recipes from which to choose. Some like a very simple salad, and others like to have something with a bit more work involved. It’s been around for a long time, and will probably always be popular for summer meals.

The basics of potato salad are potatoes, of course, mayonnaise, and onion. However, when I make it, there is no onion added. I think it ruins the taste of the salad, but just about everyone disagrees with me on that point. If I make it for a picnic, I bring a bowl of onions with me so if someone wants them, all they have to do is sprinkle them on their portion. I also like to add boiled and chopped eggs to my potato salad, and most say that they think it adds a great taste. If my husband has his way, he adds some Miracle Whip, but I usually stop him before he can get that far.

Author's note: I like to sprinkle my potato salad with crispy bacon bits!

Others like to use more inspired recipes for potato salad, and I think it often depends on how someone was raised. We often like foods the way we grew up with them, and that means trying something new, like a different tasting potato salad, is a bit daunting. Some dive in and find something new to love, and others will avoid anything that they aren’t familiar with. I’m afraid that I am one of the avoiders, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think people should make and share whatever recipe they love and know well.

If you are looking for new ways to enjoy potato salad, you only have to look as far as your computer. Recipe sites have thousands of recipes to share, and there are always quite a few for potato salad. Some even make a great low carb salad using cauliflower instead of the white potato so they can enjoy the same foods as everyone else when out at a picnic. There are also cookbooks out there that have tons of different ideas for this salad, and some that are even dedicated to the summer meals that might include this and other traditional fare.

Yahoo! News Search Results for potato salad
Yahoo! News Search Results for potato salad

Boiled dressing perks up potato salad (Miami Herald)
Q: When I was little, my friend's mother made the absolutely best dressing on her potato salad. The only ingredients I remember are evaporated milk and mustard. It may have been a cooked dressing and it was very yellow. They were from the South, so it may have been a Southern recipe.
Cook's Corner Recipe: Sweet And Creamy Potato Salad (Miami Herald)
SIDE DISH SWEET AND CREAMY POTATO SALAD BOILED DRESSING 2 eggs, beaten 1/3 to ½ cup sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Crime against humanity: potato salad in a bucket (The Kansas City Star)
I walked the length of the westbound Lake Shore Limited as it left Albany last Sunday, six crowded coaches, and counted three Twitterers and a couple of phone texters, six laptoppers (two of whom were watching movies), four video gamers, and 27 people reading books. Books made of paper! Turning the pages with their fingers one by one, reading the lines left to right, just as people have done for ...
Celebrate patriotic foods, fix potato salad July 4th (The Oklahoman)
A patriotic potato salad can be made a day ahead, leaving plenty of time for you to enjoy the fireworks this Fourth of July.The white in this salad comes from the potatoes and the dressing made from a combination of light mayonnaise, a little olive oil and thick Greek-style yogurt. We are, after all, a melting pot of nationalities.The red in the salad comes from strips of red bell peppers. These ...
Even in tough times, it's still America the beautiful (Royal Oak Daily Tribune)
Call me unAmerican, but I'm not even a huge fan of potato salad.
What's Cooking (South Bend Tribune)
Steak Fry, 5-7 p.m. Friday; VFW Post 1167, 1047 Lincoln Way E., South Bend. Salad bar and baked potato included. Cost: large dinner, $10; small dinner, $6.
Menus (The Daily Review)
FREMONT SENIOR CENTERLUNCHServed at noon at the center, 40086 Paseo Padre Parkway, 510-790-6610. Seniors, $4; nonmembers, $6.Monday: $5-$7. Barbecue ribs and chicken, potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, bread, dessert.
At the Water's Edge (Helena Independent Record)
Of patriotism, logs and hope It?s the Fourth of July, and I?m celebrating. How well I recall fireworks and Mom?s fried chicken and potato salad from my childhood. For years I served those foods. Now for cardiac reasons it?s grilled chicken and garden salads.
The week's best late-night laughs (Edmonton Sun)
President Obama was so upset about the Iranian crackdown that he told the Iranian diplomats that they would not be invited to the Fourth of July party. And I said, well, by God, that will teach them right there. ... And it's a darn shame because Ahmadinejad makes wonderful potato salad.
Ex-West Virginians urged to come home (The Register-Herald)
Amid the steaming platters of fried chicken, green beans, cole slaw and potato salad under the log-style picnic shelter across West Virginia this summer, there is some earnest politicking occurring between the catch-up talk about the kinfolk at family reunions.And the hard pitch being made at such gatherings has nothing to do with partisan politics.