Potato salad is a

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

dish made from

boiled Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmosphere. T ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. In the United States, it is generally considered a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.main course.

History and varieties

Potato salad is widely believed to have originated in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, spreading largely throughout Europe, the United States, and later Asia.
backup
/ref> American potato salad most likely originated from recipes brought to the U.S. by way of German and other European immigrants during the nineteenth century. American-style potato salad is served cold or at room temperature. Ingredients often include mayonnaise or a comparable substitute (such as

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...

or sour cream), herbs, and raw vegetables (such as

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

and

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, ...

). German-style potato salad is served warm or at room temperature and is made with a

vinaigrette Vinaigrette ( , ) is made by mixing an oil with a mild acid such as vinegar or lemon juice (citric acid). The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can also be used as a marina ...

, (rather than a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing), and typically includes bacon. Asian-style potato salad is similar to American-style potato salad, but has a sweeter and eggier flavor.

American potato salad

The earliest known American potato salad recipes date back to the mid-19th century or mid-1800s and are rooted in German cuisine, which was introduced to the United States by European settlers. Early American potato salad was made from cooked potatoes that were typically dressed with oil, vinegar, and herbs.

Japanese potato salad

A version of potato salad in Japan is known as ''potesara'' (or ''potesala'' ポテサラ), an English loanword

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsrice vinegar Rice vinegar is a vinegar made from fermented rice in East Asia (China, Japan and Korea), as well as in Vietnam in Southeast Asia. It is used as a seasoning, dressing, and dipping in many dishes, including sushi, jiaozi, and banchans. Some of i ...

, and karashi mustard.

Russian potato salad ( Oliviersalad)

Ingredients

This kind of potato salad typically includes potatoes, mayonnaise, boiled

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, boiled carrots and pickled cucumbers (in Polish ogórki kiszone). Sometimes canned corn,

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

, boiled parsley root, boiled leek or even

apples An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

are added. Furthermore, chopped parsley is commonly used as a garnish. For seasoning the salad only

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

and pepper are necessary.

References