What Makes Amish-Style Potato Salad Unique?

Hearty and filling, a batch of potato salad is the cornerstone of a cookout. Perfect for customizing with herbs and spices, aromatics, and crunchy additions, like celery and radish, it also benefits from being prepped in advance to allow the flavors to mingle. There are a multitude of varieties out there, from German potato salad (made with vinegar instead of mayo, depending on which part of Germany you're in) to Russian potato salad (which features pickles and peas) and Japanese potato salad (that has an almost-mashed quality versus a cubed texture). There's also Amish potato salad, of course, which is unlike the other varieties because it's made with yellow mustard and sugar.

A classic potato salad is coated in a seasoned mayo-based dressing that's both rich and thick. However, Amish potato salad is made with a smaller measure of mayo and the addition of yellow mustard, which does three key things. First, it lends the spuds a tangy, zesty flavor (underscored by a dash of vinegar). Second, it lifts the color of the final dish, giving it a distinctly sunny hue. And finally, the mustard provides a warming but piquant hit that balances out the sugar in the dressing, resulting in a tangy but sweet-tasting side dish that can be served with barbecued meats and burgers or baked fish and charred sausages. Spices, like paprika, can be added to the dressing to give the taters a smoky aroma and flavor, onions and celery for crunch, and chopped hard-boiled eggs for extra protein.

Amish people emigrated to the U.S. from European countries, like Germany and Switzerland, during the early 18th century, fleeing persecution. They brought their faith, traditions, and culture with them, which included their philosophy of preparing simple foods and being faithful stewards of the land. Amish potato salad was one of the recipes they carried over into their new homesteads, which used ingredients like fresh eggs and basics that could be grown from scratch, such as potatoes and herbs. As the side can be traced back to European immigrant communities, it's easy to spot its similarity to some German potato salads, which also happen to be dressed in mustard and vinegar. However, unlike Amish potato salad, the German version doesn't contain sugar, so it has a deeper savory flavor. Nowadays, some Amish potato salad recipes use a dash of Miracle Whip instead of mayo, as it comes pre-sweetened and is equally as creamy. The yellow mustard then cuts through that sweetness, giving the dressing a balanced character and flavor. That said, making your own mayo and sweetening it with sugar is more in keeping with the Amish ethos of cooking from the ground up. Amish macaroni salad has an almost identical flavor profile to Amish potato salad because it's coated in a similar mustard- and vinegar-based dressing that's sweetened with sugar.