Tartar Sauce Doesn't Only Have To Be A Seafood Condiment

Who doesn't love sauces? They add a mixture of flavor and moisture among other things (via Britannica). In most parts of the world, sauces are a kitchen staple that people probably couldn't live without. Statista reports that in 2021 in the U.S., mayonnaise was the top sauce, followed by ranch in second place. The sales of mayonnaise in 2021 amounted to $164 million, which is an astounding number. Sadly, tartar sauce is nowhere to be seen, but if anything is closely related to mayo and ranch, it's the humble and underappreciated tartar sauce. However, Zippia reports that tartar is pretty popular in the states of Alaska and Montana. 

But what is tartar sauce, anyway? According to Dictionary, tartar sauce is a mayonnaise-based dressing for seafood and fish, and it's usually enriched with chopped pickles, capers, onions, olives, and different herbs. Taste of Home reveals that the sauce has French origins and was "named after the Tatars, who settled in the Ukraine and parts of Russia." The French then probably gave their own spin to the word Tatar, and that's how tartar sauce was born. 

And if you like tartar sauce as well, you're probably used to eating it alongside fish and seafood dishes. But if you think about it a little bit, you could conclude that tartar doesn't only have to be a seafood condiment because there are some other tasty uses for this creamy sauce.

According to AllRecipes, tartar sauce is a dip that's served cold, and it's beloved for its "rich and tangy flavor." It's also an ideal accompaniment to fish and seafood dishes such as fish sticks, fried oysters, crab cakes, and fish and chips. But who says that seafood is the only thing that goes well with tartar? For example, you can use it in sandwiches, with baked potatoes instead of sour cream, as a part of a crudité platter, or with grilled or roasted vegetables, such as broccoli, corn, and zucchini (per Love & Lemons). Besides, if you love mayonnaise, you should try replacing it with tartar sauce. 

Business Insider reveals that tartar sauce has "less than half the calories per tablespoon as ranch and one-quarter the fat content of mayonnaise." If that's not a great incentive to eat more tartar than mayonnaise, we don't know what is. And if you'd like to make your own tartar sauce, it's not a complicated condiment to prepare. 

And maybe you'd like a tartar sauce just like the one chef Gordon Ramsay makes. In that case, you'll need to mix mayonnaise with lemon juice, onion powder, and sweet pickle relish (per Our Table For Seven). Once prepared, serve it with anything you like, but please, try it with other foods as well, not just fish and seafood, and you might be pleasantly surprised.