Potato Salad (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep potatoes from getting mushy in potato salad? ›

Cook the potatoes properly: Overcooking potatoes can cause them to become too soft and mushy. To prevent this, boil the potatoes until they are just tender, but not falling apart. Drain the potatoes and let them cool completely before adding the dressing.

Rinsing potatoes helps remove excess starch, so it is recommended to rinse the potatoes before cooking. To ensure even more starch is out of the way, it's recommended that they even be quickly rinsed after boiling. We recommend using hot water for rinsing after boiling and cold water prior to boiling.

You've got two options. The first option is to cook more potatoes and make more potato salad, adding more of every ingredient except mustard. Doing so will get the mustard content in equilibrium with the rest of the flavors in the salad. Your other option is to adjust the seasonings to compliment the…

There are approximately 16 servings per five-pound container. Each serving is 2/3 cup.

Plan on 1/3 to 1/2 pound potatoes per person for your feast.

Larger potatoes should be cubed to ensure they cook evenly (peeled first if desired). Smaller potatoes tend to have thin skins and can be boiled whole, no peeling required.

Boiling potatoes for potato salad is time-consuming and often waterlogs the potatoes. Here's a simple way to cook your potatoes for a better texture — no pot of boiling water required!

Russet, Yukon Gold, or red potatoes (new potatoes) are all excellent for potato salad. They do cook at different rates so be sure to adjust cook time depending on which type of potato you select.

If it's a potato salad, be sure to let the potatoes cool (the starch cells close up) before adding any dressing or salad mixture. Warm potatoes will soak up the liquids. Taste an hour after mixing and see if the spices need tweaking. Mashed potatoes do the same thing if you add in the garlic or cheddar cheese too soon.

And it's summer, which is no time for soup. But the path to good, homemade potato salad is not always an easy one. Overcooked potatoes might turn your salad into a mash, or a thick, uninteresting salad dressing may leave your salad bland.

Why does my potato salad get soupy the next day? ›

Potatoes can retain moisture. To prevent this, drain the potatoes very well in a colander or pot.

Each adult will consume 1 pound of food total; children, about 1/2 pound. The more options you have, the less you need of each; decrease the main course portion sizes by 1 to 2 ounces if served on a buffet. Guests will always eat — and drink — more at night than during the day.

1 (2 lb. bag) Tossed Salad/Chopped Romaine serves 16 (main course) to 25 (side salads). 6 (2 lb. bags) = 150 servings (you will go through every bit of it).

“A general guideline to estimating how many sweet potatoes you need when hosting friends or family for a meal is one medium sweet potato per person,” Burgess says, as if she's done this many times before.

As a side dish, you should plan on ½ pound of potatoes per person. That means if you are planning on 10 people, use 5 pounds of potatoes. 4 people use 2 pounds of potatoes.