Pickle Juice Is The Tangy Ingredient You Need To Elevate Potato Salad

Potato salads are a staple of backyard grill-outs or summer outings, but in the wrong hands, they can wind up a bit boring. No one wants party guests to accuse their dish of being bland or flat. Fortunately, there's one unconventional ingredient that will completely transform your potato salad from zero to hero — pickle juice. 

Before you wrinkle your nose and close the article, hear us out. While the sourness of pickles might not be everyone's favorite, it blends well with the creaminess of mayonnaise, giving your potatoes a slight tang without overwhelming the dish. Many potato salad recipes call for vinegar, so swap out the ingredient for some pickle brine to give your recipe something extra. Even if your favorite potato salad doesn't include vinegar, it's as simple as splashing a spoonful or two into the mix. Then, you can add as much or as little as you need to suit your and your guests' tastes.

While some home cooks add mustard to give their potato salads a tangy edge, pickle juice is milder and has the added benefit of being able to soak into your potatoes. What's more, you can double down on the pickle theme for some truly creative results. 

To take the pickle theme to the next level, incorporate some pickle slices into your potato salad. The crunch and crispness of diced dill pickles will complement the celery and onions in the mix. Once you've made your potato salad, why not top it with crumbled-up dill pickle potato chips to give the dish a bit of added flair? This potato salad should be a hit at your next gathering, but what if, in all your excitement and haste, you added a bit too much pickle juice? After all, you don't want a potato salad that makes your guests' lips pucker.

Fortunately, that's an easy fix if you have lemons or sugar. No, we're not making lemonade, but lemon's acidity can help cut down on the intense sourness of vinegar. Add a cup of lemon zest for every two cups of potato salad to balance the flavors. You can also incorporate a little bit of sugar to take the bite out of the pickle brine.