I have a question about my potato salad and a new to me product.

O

orchid

Well-known member
First the product, Park's Finest from Ball Park Franks and they come in several seasonings. We had the one called Signature Seasoning and grilled them and then just put them on hot dog buns with the usual cast of characters, onions, relish, mustard and catsup. I don't know if these are just out now or I just became aware of them. Anyone else try them? They just tasted like a hot dog to me but John said he tasted some seasoning. Not worth the extra cost to either of us.

Now to my potato salad, my Grandma told me how to make it and I have been doing the exact same thing for over 46 years. It is delicious (and that translates to KILLER!) and when I catered in Jeddah it was one of the must order dishes and we're talking Consulates here. I can't figure out what is wrong but ever since we moved into this place the potato salad gets watery on about the 2nd day! I don't do anything different at all and it happens every single time. At first I thought it might be the fridge and we went thru 2 before we bought the beauty that I have now. So I am ruling the fridge out. I used to use russets but started using red potatoes. Same thing regardless of the potato. WHY? Please give me some genius advice to fix this problem.

http://ballparkbrand.com/#!/products/premium-franks

 
Oh, um, I guess that would be helpful wouldn't it. (sorry) No recipe

but here is what she told me to do. I dice up the potato and I now steam them. I used to boil them. When they are cool I add mayo, diced onion, sweet pickle relish, diced hard boiled eggs, salt & pepper and a sprinkle of sugar to bring out the taste. I used to add a little splash of sweet gherkin juice but I don't anymore since I started have this problem. So I can't give amounts because it depends on how many potatoes I begin with. I just add mayo so that it is a little creamy and the rest is to taste. Will this work?

 
Agree about seeing the recipe. Lots of chatter on the Internet about this issue

it could be the salt you are using that is pulling out moisture from the veggies. Also, some say the onions that have been genetically modified are producing too much water, but they don't make your eyes water - as much -

Often, I go back through recipes I made when the kids were home that I marked as excellent....I make them and they are not the same. Our food has/is changing and not for the better. I buy local, organic, as much as I can. I do know that you have to make sure your potatoes are dry. I usually drain them, then put back on the stove, lid on, heat off, and let them dry.
We have a mystery to solve....

 
Karen, I'll cover the salt, relish & the onions here. I started using Kosher

salt even back when I was in Saudi and no problems. The onions? Now that I wonder about. I used to use just plain old yellow Spanish onions but since we returned back to the States Vidalia onions have been available on the market and I use them for most everything. Maybe they have too much moisture in them? On the relish, I have always bought whatever and in Jeddah, whatever I could get my hands on. And again, this has just started to happen since we've been in this place. And I steam most all of my veggies anymore.

 
I think the sugar is reacting with the vidalias and juicing them. maybe. like sugar on strawberries

Vidalias have more sugar and moisture than regular onions. they don't last nearly as long before spoiling.

 
I wonder if it could be that? The vidalia's do have more moisture

in them and I never thought about the salt pulling that moisture out. I'm still confused because I only started having this problem since we moved here and haven't changed anything. I have switched up potatoes to see if I could see a difference but not onions. I'll try that next time.

 
This could definitely be an issue. Also I'll bet mayo is now made with more preservatives, etc. Have

you tried whipping a small batch of your own mayo? If you have a mini food processor and room temp eggs, it works in a heart beat.

 
LOL Lordy NO I have never made my own mayo. No I'm off to google

and I think I need to find someone with that couch that you lay on and tell someone about your problems......;0)

 
the salt would draw out the moisture too. double whammy. I tried making onion soup with some

vidalias and thought it was awful. too watery and way too sweet.

 
I would bet it's the mayo that's the problem. When I use mayo it keeps its consistency for a

very short time. Very annoying.

 
OK, I'll try the different things one at a time and see what happens.

I'll start by using a Spanish onion because I kinda think that might be the culprit. If that doesn't do it I'll try making the mayo the next time. We don't have potato salad too often so it will take a while but I'll let you know. I still don't understand why this only started happening since we moved but I think I'm hung up on that because I really would rather be in my beautiful house. This place is nice and it gives a good roof over our head but still...yes, I'm still whining. Thanks for all your suggestions.

 
I'm gonna recommend that you use organic potatoes. Even if you didn't previously

they're messing around with products to increase mass production more and more, so use something less violated.

You can also do a mini-batch rather than waste all the ingredients for a big batch to find the problem.

 
OK, I'll try just 1 or 2 potatoes but I'm gonna start with the onion

first. I don't buy organic because of the cost but I'll try it.

 
I'll make the mayo too. Just never have done it but I know it's

easy. I found a Ann Burrell recipe that I'll try because I trust her recipes 150%!

 
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