The Flavorful Ingredient You Should Add To Your Egg Salad

Salads can be a tough sell. Sure, a low-carb mix of veggies in a bowl is good for you, but when hunger strikes, nibbling on a leaf of lettuce never sounds quite as appealing as some of the heartier options on a given menu. But a salad made primarily of eggs and mayonnaise? Often served between two pieces of white bread? Now that's the kind of salad we can get behind.

According to The Nibble, egg salad sandwiches were probably invented sometime in the early 1800s, just after mayonnaise came into existence. Eggs were the most ubiquitous, least expensive protein in town, so it likely did not take long before people realized that taking something good (eggs) and adding mayonnaise could elevate the taste. Unlike its cousins, macaroni salad and potato salad, someone obviously recognized egg salad's sandwich potential, and before you know it, egg-o-philes everywhere were adding spices, herbs, maybe even an errant vegetable or two (but always with the utmost discretion, lest the eggs get too salad-y), putting their creation on bread, and calling it a day.

But there's one ingredient that everyone — even the most tentative egg salad fans — must try.

Nearly everyone puts a different twist on their own egg salad, which is what makes it the great blank canvas of the salad world. If you're doing egg salad as a stand-alone side, or as an, ahem, salad (as in, over some leafy greens), these recipes from Eating Well emphasize the need to beef up your dish with substantial veggies or something like bacon or tuna (á la Salad Niçoise). But if you're making an egg salad sandwich, might we suggest adding some relish as a quick and effective flavor accelerant? This recipe for "Magical Egg Salad" from All Recipes uses sweet pickle relish, and it makes sense for so many reasons.

According to Britannica, relish — that acidic, zippy combination of chopped veggies and a sweet-sour sauce — can be found in most cultures' culinary landscapes. The U.S. likes to pickle cucumbers and onions in white vinegar with a bit of sugar (like in Epicurious' recipe for homemade relish), but Korean kimchi (pickled cabbage), or Indian chutney are relishes, too, and an egg salad might just relish the thought of marrying any one of them. Just don't let them see the salad dressing before the wedding.