Your Potato Salad Needs A Pinch Of Sugar. Here's Why

Potato salad is the unsung hero of the modern picnic and family barbecue. Rich, creamy, and packing some seriously robust flavor, the unapologetically starchy side effortlessly — and deliciously — complements both meats and vegetarian dishes. And while every professional and amateur chef seems to have their own unique tips to preparing the best potato salad — be it the exact amount of time to boil your potatoes or whether you should use Russet potatoes or Yukon Golds — as it turns out, adding a bit of sugar to your potato salad's dressing is the simple key to a delectable side dish worth top billing. 

Adding sugar to your potato salad recipe will not only help bolster a creamy salad's overall flavor — the sweetness of the sugar balances out the richness in the heavier ingredients such as the mayonnaise, but it will also add a much-needed flavor pop to the tanginess of a non-creamy, vinegar-based dressing. But there's no need to overdo it on the sugar. Mayonnaise-based salads (such as a classic potato salad) can usually do with a few tablespoons to ½ cup,
and for their vinegar-based counterparts (such as German potato salad), a pinch of sugar (roughly ⅛ tablespoon) to every tablespoon of vinegar in your dressing (or up to ½ cup, if you like it sweeter), is sufficient for deliciously balanced flavor. So grab that sweetener out of your pantry and get cooking.

Wondering which type of sugar to add to your potato salad? While standard granulated sugar, raw sugar, or even liquid sweetener can help bring your balanced salad taste to fruition, it's important to note that raw sugar doesn't dissolve as easily as granulated sugar, so you'll want to stick to either regular refined or liquid sugar to balance out the flavors of your potato salad's dressing. As for whether to add brown sugar vs. white sugar, however, it depends entirely on your taste preferences. White sugar is typically sweeter than its brown counterpart, which — with its caramelly, nutty flavor — adds a more distinct taste to recipes, even in small amounts. For a potato salad containing bacon, you might consider the latter (in a one-to-one substitution for your white sugar), as its flavor will pair deliciously with the hickory smoked taste of the salted meat.

To use liquid sugar in your potato salad dressing, rather, you'll need to use about one and a half teaspoons for each teaspoon of regular sugar your recipe calls for in order to account for the extra water in the syrup. But keep an eye on the amount of liquid you are adding so that your salad doesn't get too watery. Whatever sugar you choose, you'll simply add it to your dressing and toss until well distributed, and you've got a serious winner on your hands.

Potato salad is a versatile side dish, as it pairs quite delectably with both meat and vegetarian dishes, and is often so delicious and filling that it tempts you to, dare we say, eat it by itself? But if you're looking for a delicious pairing to complement the flavors in your sweet and balanced potato salad, you might want to consider serving it alongside some chargrilled chicken or vegetable skewers. The smokiness from the charcoal infused in the meat or veggies will offer not only a delicious balance to the creaminess and sweetness of a mayo-based salad, but it will also punctuate the flavor of any bacon in your recipe. 

For a vinegar-based salad, consider pairing with a pork tenderloin. The sweetness in the dressing will bring out the saltiness and richness in the pork for a slam-dunk partnership that will be the talk of your picnic.