My Mom Swears By Adding Natural Sweeteners To Potato Salad For Better Flavor Every Time

Growing up, I remember my Cantonese mother being very traditional in the kitchen. For example, she would make Cantonese soups every night, even during the summertime. When it was hot, she would make a refreshing Chinese soup that would cool down the body, apparently. But Mom did like to make a few Western dishes for our family gatherings and potlucks, including egg and potato salads. 

Even then, she couldn't resist giving those dishes an Asian spin. See, cooking in my household has always been built on balancing flavors. I grew up adding a touch of sugar to fried rice and rock sugar to pho broth. Our desserts are alluringly not too sweet. So when Mom made potato salads, she would either add a splash of maple syrup to the mix or fold in diced fruits like pears or apples. 

Adding sweetness to a savory dish helps round out all the flavors and provide balance. Sweetness also helps cut the richness and acidity of mayonnaise and adds a pop to the potatoes. For those who tend to use vinegar in potato salad, the sweetness will also help temper the acidity there. If you use diced apples, you're also adding crunch and texture.

Adding sweetness to egg or potato salads is not new or strictly an Asian concept. German-American cooks have leaned into incorporating sugar and dried fruit into their own potato salads for generations. For example, raisins are sometimes found in homemade potato salads, though the internet and social media love to make fun of this addition. 

Now, if you would like to start adding natural sweeteners to your potato salad this week, start with a good recipe, like our red, white, and blue potato salad recipe. To incorporate a liquid sweetener, such as honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup, add the liquid directly to the mayonnaise and stir until fully combined. To start, use about a tablespoon of sweetener for every half cup of mayonnaise. Then, adjust the sweetness to suit your palate. If you want to add diced fruits, just toss the fruits into the salad mixture to fold them in. 

This is the way Mom built balance into every dish, and it has become a habit that followed me straight into my own kitchen. These days, I cook for her. Our desserts are never too sweet, and our savory dishes are never too salty. Meals on our table are always perfectly balanced in flavor.