Potato salads are filling and, although they are a starchy food, potatoes contain reasonable amounts of vitamin C. Though cold potato salads are refreshing in summer, the best advantage in this type of salads is that there are variations to eat warm.

Potato Salads

Potato salad seems to have began in Germany, although it was a hot potato salad made with bacon, and a vinegar for a robust flavor. Then the French created their own version with a vinaigrette and served cold. Just about everywhere you go, you can find a different variation of the potato salad. It is a wondrous concoction that can be easily manipulated to please almost anyone, I say almost because there are a few out there that don’t care for potatoes.

When Americans think potato salad they just imagine boiled potatoes smothered in mayonnaise and mustard with diced hard boiled eggs and served cold along side their hamburgers. There are many variations of this recipe as well. Depending on what part of the region you are in.

Potato salad is one of those things that need to be played with to find it’s harmony. A good start would be trying potato salads from around the world. German pootato Salad would be a good place to start. Then we can move on to the French potato salad, then the Irish. While we’re at it, have some English, Korean, Canadian, and American. Oh the potatoes! And if you are feeling really ornery about it, try using sweet potatoes instead of the classic white or reds.

Once you have discovered your base salad, it is a free for all. Cook your potatoes with garlic, add rosemary here and there. It is all up to you and what you have in your spice rack.

About the Author

Erin M. Phelan combines cooking, writing and talking about food with her love for the countryside. She is a modern homesteader and raises her own organic food. Erin lives in a lovely farm in Kansas, with her husband and young children. You can read about her adventures in her blog, A Homesteading Neophyte, and her recipes are published regularly at All Foods Natural.