My Great Great Grandma’s Potato Salad
When I was growing up, we didn’t buy potato salad from the store.
But we could have.
No, my mother made it from scratch, as she did most everything.
Southerners love their salads.
Potato Salad, Pea Salad, Pasta Salad, Tuna Fish Salad, Chicken Salad, Cabbage Salad, Fruit Salad, Shrimp and Watermelon Salad Pretzel Salad, Cornbread Salad and of Course, Watergate Salad….. just to name a few.
Not a whisper of lettuce draweth neigh to any of these.
But they are good; Most of them require a jar of Mayo as a first ingredient.
Yes, salads are in a league of their own.
Closely followed by Casseroles and Molds.
My mother wasn’t into molds though.
I think the instability of the gelatinous mass caused her anxiety.
There is a lot of stress relief in chopping up bucketfuls of vegetables.
I made my first Potato Salad yesterday.
To accompany Hank’s second round of ribs which were great once again.
All my life, I have helped my mother make potato salad.
Gallons and Gallons and Gallons of potato salad.
But I’ve never made it unsupervised.
It was a lot more work than I expected!
It took me about 2 hours to make it!
Good Lord.
I thought if I ever saw another potato it would be too soon.
I also realized that I made WAY too much.
The family recipe called for 10 Pounds of potatoes.
(To feed my parents, my grandparents and my 6 younger brothers and sisters)
I thought I would be safe by cutting everything in half and making 5 pounds.
(To feed 6 adults and 2 kids)
Still it made too much.
But another great thing about salads is they keep for a few days, so we will have leftovers.
I remember now that Mom always made a lot because it was so much work, it was good to make a few days worth at a time.
The potato salad turned out delicious.
Just like I remembered it.
Creamy and crunchy and the same time.
It was worth the work.
And Hank was impressed.
(It’s always nice to impress the husband)
He kept saying, “The potato salad is really wonderful Megan… its really good!”
I forgot to ask him if he ever had homemade potato salad.
There’s a big difference.
This is my family’s recipe; we have been using the same one for almost 100 years.
If you feel so inclined, you should try it.
I suggest doing everything to taste.
Some people like more eggs in their salad, some people like none at all.
Same thing with the relish, dill, garlic, mustard, etc.
**My Great Great Grandma’s Potato Salad**
I’ve had to alter this a little bit simply because I know most of you don’t have home-made Mayo, etc. sitting around at home. For the most part, this is it.
10 Pounds potatoes (I like Red Potatoes and we always leave the skins on – some people don’t)
6 to 8 Eggs (Depending on size of eggs and how much egg flavor you want. I like 6)
2 Large Green Bell Pepper
1 Large Bag of Radishes (Will equal 2 cups when sliced)
4 Stalks of Celery
1 Large Onion
1 Jar of Mayo or Miracle Whip (I like Kraft – Real Mayo, it’s a lighter mayonnaise)
¼ Cup of Mustard (I like Guldens spicy)
¼ Cup Sugar (I forgot to put it in this time, and it couldn’t tell it was missing)
1 Jar Sweet Pickle Relish (8 oz.)
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Garlic powder
1 teaspoons Dill, more to taste (Dill can make or break anything, so use it carefully!)
Wash potatoes cut the eyes out and cut them into fourths – put them in water and on stove to boil. Add the eggs in with the potatoes to boil as well so everything will be done at the same time.
Boil the potatoes until they are soft when you stick a fork through them.
While the potatoes are boiling, start cutting up all the vegetables. Everything will need to be chopped up into very small pieces.
The radishes will need to be sliced into lots of little circles.
As soon as the potatoes and eggs are finished, drain them and place them in the refrigerator to cool.
After about 20 minutes or so they should be ready to be cut up into bite sized squares and places in a bowl along with the eggs, chopped up into fine bits.
Mix in all other ingredients, veggies first then mayo, relish and mustard.
** Do this to taste!
You may decide you do not want as much of an ingredient or you may decide you want more.
I use very little relish usually and I add it slowly.
Same with the Dill.
Mix everything together, cover and chill in the refrigerator before serving!
Of course – If you are not feeding an army, you can make a fourth of the recipe and I think that will make about 2 quarts.
Next time I make it, I’ll measure everything out and update this to know for sure!
But we could have.
No, my mother made it from scratch, as she did most everything.
Southerners love their salads.
Potato Salad, Pea Salad, Pasta Salad, Tuna Fish Salad, Chicken Salad, Cabbage Salad, Fruit Salad, Shrimp and Watermelon Salad Pretzel Salad, Cornbread Salad and of Course, Watergate Salad….. just to name a few.
Not a whisper of lettuce draweth neigh to any of these.
But they are good; Most of them require a jar of Mayo as a first ingredient.
Yes, salads are in a league of their own.
Closely followed by Casseroles and Molds.
My mother wasn’t into molds though.
I think the instability of the gelatinous mass caused her anxiety.
There is a lot of stress relief in chopping up bucketfuls of vegetables.
I made my first Potato Salad yesterday.
To accompany Hank’s second round of ribs which were great once again.
All my life, I have helped my mother make potato salad.
Gallons and Gallons and Gallons of potato salad.
But I’ve never made it unsupervised.
It was a lot more work than I expected!
It took me about 2 hours to make it!
Good Lord.
I thought if I ever saw another potato it would be too soon.
I also realized that I made WAY too much.
The family recipe called for 10 Pounds of potatoes.
(To feed my parents, my grandparents and my 6 younger brothers and sisters)
I thought I would be safe by cutting everything in half and making 5 pounds.
(To feed 6 adults and 2 kids)
Still it made too much.
But another great thing about salads is they keep for a few days, so we will have leftovers.
I remember now that Mom always made a lot because it was so much work, it was good to make a few days worth at a time.
The potato salad turned out delicious.
Just like I remembered it.
Creamy and crunchy and the same time.
It was worth the work.
And Hank was impressed.
(It’s always nice to impress the husband)
He kept saying, “The potato salad is really wonderful Megan… its really good!”
I forgot to ask him if he ever had homemade potato salad.
There’s a big difference.
This is my family’s recipe; we have been using the same one for almost 100 years.
If you feel so inclined, you should try it.
I suggest doing everything to taste.
Some people like more eggs in their salad, some people like none at all.
Same thing with the relish, dill, garlic, mustard, etc.
**My Great Great Grandma’s Potato Salad**
I’ve had to alter this a little bit simply because I know most of you don’t have home-made Mayo, etc. sitting around at home. For the most part, this is it.
10 Pounds potatoes (I like Red Potatoes and we always leave the skins on – some people don’t)
6 to 8 Eggs (Depending on size of eggs and how much egg flavor you want. I like 6)
2 Large Green Bell Pepper
1 Large Bag of Radishes (Will equal 2 cups when sliced)
4 Stalks of Celery
1 Large Onion
1 Jar of Mayo or Miracle Whip (I like Kraft – Real Mayo, it’s a lighter mayonnaise)
¼ Cup of Mustard (I like Guldens spicy)
¼ Cup Sugar (I forgot to put it in this time, and it couldn’t tell it was missing)
1 Jar Sweet Pickle Relish (8 oz.)
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Garlic powder
1 teaspoons Dill, more to taste (Dill can make or break anything, so use it carefully!)
Wash potatoes cut the eyes out and cut them into fourths – put them in water and on stove to boil. Add the eggs in with the potatoes to boil as well so everything will be done at the same time.
Boil the potatoes until they are soft when you stick a fork through them.
While the potatoes are boiling, start cutting up all the vegetables. Everything will need to be chopped up into very small pieces.
The radishes will need to be sliced into lots of little circles.
As soon as the potatoes and eggs are finished, drain them and place them in the refrigerator to cool.
After about 20 minutes or so they should be ready to be cut up into bite sized squares and places in a bowl along with the eggs, chopped up into fine bits.
Mix in all other ingredients, veggies first then mayo, relish and mustard.
** Do this to taste!
You may decide you do not want as much of an ingredient or you may decide you want more.
I use very little relish usually and I add it slowly.
Same with the Dill.
Mix everything together, cover and chill in the refrigerator before serving!
Of course – If you are not feeding an army, you can make a fourth of the recipe and I think that will make about 2 quarts.
Next time I make it, I’ll measure everything out and update this to know for sure!
posted by Megan Champion at
10:15 AM
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