Which Potatoes are Suitable for Potato Salad?

What kind of potatoes you use for potato salad is crucial for the right consistency of the popular dish. Choosing the right type of cook is more important for the success of your potato salad recipes than the variety. Waxy potatoes are the best potatoes for potato salad: they contain less starch than mainly waxy and floury ones, so they stay firm/shape after cooking. You can slice them well and the lettuce has a nice bite to it. The preparation with predominantly firm-boiling tubers also works, but they do not hold their shape so well. Floury potatoes are unsuitable for potato salad as they fall apart when cooked. You can find out what you can use this and the other types of cooking for in the answer to the question “Floury or waxy: which potatoes for which dish?”. As far as the potato variety for potato salad is concerned, supply and taste are decisive. Linda, Sieglinde, or Annabelle – they are all delicious!

Properly cooking potatoes for potato salad

Whether you want to prepare a warm potato salad in a classic way with oil and vinegar or a variant with mayonnaise and apple: In addition to the cooking properties of the tubers, how you cook the potatoes for the potato salad is also important. Place them, unpeeled, in a saucepan of cold, salted water so that they are completely covered. When the water boils, reduce the heat by half. After 15 to 20 minutes the potatoes have the right consistency, they should not be too soft. After cooking, drain the cooking water and let the potatoes cool slightly. Once the tubers are lukewarm, you can peel and slice them.

Tip: the next time you are faced with the question of which potatoes to use for Swabian potato salad or other creations, then go for red or blue varieties. This brings color to the salad, provides great variety – and makes a great impression on every buffet!