How did we go from winter to summer overnight? It’s been in the 80s here. The 80s! (The temps are supposed to drop off starting today, though. Hello, spring???) Cook-out weather makes me hungry for potato salad right away. Cold, creamy, cook-out-style potato salad with lots of celery and pickle relish. I can’t stand store-bought potato salad.
Take your potato salad a step further for bonus homemade points by making your own mayonnaise and mustard! You can find all sorts of homemade condiment recipes here. It’s much easier than you might think to whip up your own mayonnaise and mustard, and the great thing about making your own is you can flavor it to your specific tastes, creating gourmet-style condiments. My honey-dijon is based on the dijon recipe here, with some variations to suit my taste. (That link includes a whole bunch of different mustard recipes and even instructions for grinding your own mustard seeds to make the mustard all the way from scratch.)
In the condiments index, there are several mayonnaise recipes. I use a variation based on this recipe to make a garlic mayonnaise.
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How to make Homemade Honey-Dijon Mustard:
2 cups dry white wine
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup dry mustard
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup honey
Combine wine, onion, and garlic in a small pot. Heat to boiling and simmer 5 minutes. Cool; strain solids. Place the dry mustard and cornstarch in the small pot and add a small amount of the strained liquid, stirring until smooth, gradually adding the rest. Stir in oil, and salt. Heat slowly until it starts thickening and bubbling, stirring constantly for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in honey. Turn off heat and cool. Store in a glass jar. Keep refrigerated. Chill completely before using. The mustard will continue to thicken to a spreadable consistency as it chills. Double or triple recipe as needed. (Keeps well for about a month.)
This is a very mild, sweet dijon that I like. Check out all the mustard recipes here and find one that’s just right for you!
Homemade mayonnaise and other sauces, such as hollandaise, use raw egg yolks. Eating foods containing raw eggs isn’t recommended. Please use pasteurized eggs. You can buy pasteurized eggs, or pasteurize eggs at home. From the USDA website: “To make a recipe safe that specifies using eggs that aren’t cooked, heat the eggs in a liquid from the recipe over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 160 °F. Then combine it with the other ingredients and complete the recipe.”
In this mayonnaise recipe, add the egg yolks to the vinegar and lemon juice to heat to pasteurization level.
How to make Homemade Garlic Mayonnaise:
2 pasteurized egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic powder*
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup extra light olive oil
*Leave out the garlic if you don’t want a garlic mayonnaise.
Place everything but the oil in a blender. Blend adding 1/4 cup of the oil at a time. (Use the lightest oils for the mildest taste–canola and extra light olive oil are best.) As you add the oil and blend, the mixture will thicken. You may need to stick a knife down into the blender (with the blender turned off!) and push down the oil as you add it in increments then continue to blend. Transfer to a glass jar for storage. Double or triple the recipe depending on how fast your family goes through mayo. Keep refrigerated. (Keeps well for about two weeks.)
This is amazing. It turns right into mayonnaise. If you’ve never made mayonnaise before, it’s a bit of a stunner to realize there’s no dairy in there. Mayonnaise is mostly whipped oil. Which you might not really want to think about too often, but it’s great on sandwiches!
Or in potato salad! (The above mayo recipe makes just about the right amount for this potato salad recipe.)
How to make Creamy Potato Salad:
6 medium potatoes (2 pounds), diced and cooked
6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste*
*Start with about a teaspoon of salt and a half-teaspoon of pepper, adding more to suit yourself. Me, I use two teaspoons of salt.
I have a terrible time judging what medium anything is, so I weigh the potatoes for this recipe. The secret to fabulous potato salad is having the right balance of ingredients, so getting the potato measure correct is important. This is a recipe I started making from a cookbook many moons ago then gradually revised over the years into my own version of perfect creamy potato goodness. I have another potato salad recipe here–New Red Potato Salad with Sour Cream and Dill for when I have a hankering for red potatoes. I pretty much have a thing for potato salad.
Back to this recipe–I peel and dice the potatoes before boiling. They cook faster that way and it’s easier to dice them while they’re hard. Drain and cool the potatoes. Combine everything in a big bowl to stir up and taste-test for your salt and pepper. I use a big bowl to mix everything up then transfer to a medium-size bowl for storing and serving. Chill the potato salad thoroughly before serving. It’s best to make potato salad a day ahead to give time for the flavors to meld and for it to get really, really cold. Ice-cold creamy potato salad is the bomb!
Make some! With homemade mayo and mustard, of course! It is so much fun to experiment with your own condiments. Nothing from the store can beat a condiment you make yourself tailored to your own tastes. Experiment with flavor. Have fun with condiments this spring and summer for all your cook-outs.
Think outside the grocery store shelf!
P.S. I use home-canned sweet pickle relish. You can find the sweet pickle relish recipe here.
See the Creamy Potato Salad recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.
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Marymac says:
Suzanne, you’re a woman after my own heart!! Potato salad is probably my most favorite food in the world. I would request it if it was my last meal on death row!!! There are many variations of it but I make mine like you. I love potato salad.
On April 8, 2010 at 3:08 am
CindyP says:
I LOVE POTATO SALAD! I don’t think I’ve ever made a potato salad the same twice….I add many things, depending on what I have, then work the dressing, sometimes depending on what I have a hankering for. Sometimes garlicy, sometimes sweeter….. so everyone is always surprised with my potato salad. But it’s always good, because I love good food! LOL!
Think outside the grocery store shelf…what an awesome inspirational saying! It is definitely something you have helped me with in the last year and a half, thank you!
On April 8, 2010 at 4:43 am
CindyP says:
And I never knew about pasteurizing eggs! Thank you for the link!
On April 8, 2010 at 4:47 am
mamawolf says:
I have been making mayonnaise and mustard for months and won’t buy them again. Tried a dijon recipe but it was horrible. Will try yours today. Home crafted is best. Gotta check out the rest of the goodies listed. :fairy:
On April 8, 2010 at 4:50 am
Johanna says:
Sounds great! Unfortunately a cold front went through last night and it’s about in the 30s this morning, only going up about 10 degrees today. Guess I’ll be holding off until the weekend when we’re back in the 70s (and I have a day off). Mmm mmm good!
On April 8, 2010 at 6:56 am
Carol Langille says:
Suzanne, can you make this mayo in a food processor instead of a blender? I have a good Cuisinart but no blender. Sure looks good but I like my potato salad a little drier. And I boil my potatoes in the jacket, cool, then peel and chunk up. And I use a medium red potato. Lots of celery, some onion, eggs and a smidge of relish, then mayo and mustard. Gonna try your mayo recipe if I can do the food processor.
Thanks!
On April 8, 2010 at 7:16 am
Susan at Charm of the Carolines says:
You’ve been busy girlfriend! I can’t stand store bought potato salad either, and always make mine from scratch. However, now I know there is scratch and there is SCRATCH!
Still a little afraid of making my own mayo. Too many horror stories from my mother about her childhood and food poisoning.
Keep the great content coming. I look forward to reading your blog every day!
Susan
On April 8, 2010 at 9:00 am
Victoria says:
I LOVE potato salad and now thanks to your post I am craving some. Thanks for sharing your recipe, it looks delicious.
On April 8, 2010 at 9:50 am
Cate says:
Amazing. I was just thinking last night that I need to find a good recipe for homemade mayo and here it is to greet me this morning. Had a taste for tuna salad, but no mayo and didn’t want to make a run to the store. Thanks Suzanne! Your recipes always seem to arrive just in the nick of time.
On April 8, 2010 at 10:09 am
Barbee' says:
You and I think alike often times. Spring means potato salad time. You put a lot of work into this post, and it is lovely of you. Thank you.
On April 8, 2010 at 10:24 am
lavenderblue says:
I’m the only one in my house who eats potato salad. Cannot understand why anyone would not love potato salad. But I can’t do pickle relish. I use celery, celery seed if I have it, dill weed and my fresh chives, among other things.
Am I the only one who would feel safer using fresh home-grow eggs to make mayonnaise, or am I just looking for yet another good excuse to get me some chickens? I’ve wanted to try this since my mom first told me where mayonnaise really comes from but the idea of soaking stale store bought eggs in oil,even pasteurized ones, just doesn’t sound right.
On April 8, 2010 at 10:38 am
lavenderblue says:
P.S. Does anyone else have the brown vs. yellow mustard debate raging at their house? Strictly brown, here. Closer to real. Husband eats only screaming yellow.
On April 8, 2010 at 10:44 am
Klabmom says:
You are helping me on my mission to feed my family as little processed food as possible. Sometimes it’s the condiments that I have a hard time finding recipes for, thank you!!
On April 8, 2010 at 11:12 am
Melissa at The Highlandview Pantry says:
:snuggle: Looks yummy – I’ve been experimenting with homemade mayonaisse too. Getting two dozen fresh eggs a day and I need to use them up.
On April 8, 2010 at 11:22 am
Brenda in AZ says:
I love potato salad. Hate store bought. I am going to have to make my own mayo now. For my relish I canned some zucchini relish last summer and it is such a nice change from pickle relish. Makes egg salad awesome. Love the post. Thanks for all the inspiration.
On April 8, 2010 at 11:40 am
Brian says:
“Pasteurizing” eggs at home is a gamble, not to mention a real pain. There’s no way to be sure you’re destroying anything, or creating an environment for bacteria to thrive. If you got little to lose, what the heck. But if you’re serving children, the elderly, pregnant women or anyone with a compromised immune system, you’re better off buying pasteurized eggs.
According to the FSIS, attempting to pasteurize eggs at home is not a good idea:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Focus_On_Shell_Eggs/index.asp
On April 8, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Hi, Brian. Thanks for the link. Actually, the USDA recommends an easy, safe method for pasteurizing at home and I updated the post. Thanks!!
On April 8, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Michele says:
You should write a cookbook!! It would be a big hit and you would be on Oprah and be rich. Then you could afford more land and more animals, etc. etc. etc. Love your website. I have a good recipe for vegan mayo. You use egg replacer (the powdered stuff in the box)instead of eggs. :hungry: :hungry: :hungry:
On April 8, 2010 at 1:10 pm
BuckeyeGirl says:
My best friend used to make her own catchup and her daughter one day asked what her mom was making, and when she found out it was catchup, she declared that she only liked and didn’t want “Home Made” Well, little did the child know, she’d had never had ‘store bought’ (at home anyway), only home made that had been put into store bottles for ease of serving. I always thought that was pretty funny.
On April 8, 2010 at 1:50 pm
wvhomecanner says:
Brian, the link you provide is in regards to ‘shell eggs’ meaning eggs still in the shell and no, there is no sure way to pasteurize eggs at home in the shell. I do see that Suzanne has added the info about home pasteurization of eggs out of the shell as recommended by the USDA so that the info is part of the recipe now. It’s good to know how to do things safely for ourselves so that when items are not available or getting to the store is impossible, we don’t have to do without.
~dede~
On April 8, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Sandra in SC says:
I made homemade mayo for the first time last fall….needed it for homemade pimento cheese….both were yummy! I can’t remember who asked, but yes, you can make the mayo in your food processor…that’s what I used.
On April 8, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Sandra, thanks for answering that! I don’t have a food processor, so I don’t know. I’ve been asking a few people trying to find an answer. Thank you!
On April 8, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Aedrielle says:
Yay! What fun! Can’t wait to make a potato salad this summer!!
In Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon has several recipes that use raw eggs in things like mayo, salad dressings (the Cesar recipe is DIVINE!!), etc. I’ve never heard of pasteurizing your eggs and I’ve been eating raw eggs in this manner for years. I do, however, eat farm fresh eggs – NOT battery eggs. If you’re getting farm fresh eggs, I wouldn’t be overly concerned about it! People have been eating raw eggs for thousands of years 🙂 BUT – yes, be skeptical of store bought eggs, they have a very high chance of being unsafe for raw consumption.
On April 8, 2010 at 3:43 pm
lauren says:
Having a killer craving for potatoe salad now!!! I love your blog sooo much, its the high light of my day 🙂
On April 8, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Amber says:
That makes me crave potato salad so bad! I love it with bacon crumbles.
On April 8, 2010 at 7:36 pm
MMT says:
My son has been wanting me to find a recipe and make homemade mayo. He is a personal trainer and health food nut and he is happy to see that I have found your site and have been following your recipes and advice for more sustainable living. I don’t have my own chickens, but our next door neighbor does and I get fresh wonderful eggs from them. I will be making mayo, mustard and potato salad. Thanks again Suzanne!
On April 8, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Lisa says:
Lordy, Suzanne! A cup and a half of mayo? Other than that, and your very generous proportion of sweet pickle relish, this is pretty much identical to my recipe. Although, if I make some fabulous mayo of my own, I might be tempted to use more!
On April 8, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Laura says:
Happy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful and special day! I really loved your post today and can’t wait to try and make my own mayo and mustard!!!! Please enter me into the BBB giveaway.
On April 11, 2010 at 11:16 pm
debbie says:
Your recipe is very similar to mine, only I omit the sugar and add a tablespoon of whey. Besides the health benefits of whey, it also acts as a preservative. The mayo will last for several months if added (not that mine lasts that long!) If you do add the whey, then you need to let the mayo sit at room temp for 7 hours before you refrigerate it.
On May 3, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Breezy says:
Canola oil? Get real. It’s a petroleum derivative. You know better. Shame.
On June 13, 2010 at 11:58 am
Sheila says:
I used my food processor when I made the mayo a few weeks back and it turned out nicely :).
On December 6, 2010 at 8:37 pm