What’s Special About Black American Potato Salad?
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Who made the potato salad?
If you’re African American, you’re all too familiar with this question about the potato salad on the table at a cookout or family dinner. This seemingly innocuous query carries a deep cultural significance, reflecting the communal nature of Black American food culture.
This question could also be asked this way: “Who brought the potato salad?”
In essence, what we’re trying to get to the bottom of is this…
Who made the potato salad at the cookout?
Black cookout potato salad
You see, in a Black family, you have to earn the right to bring this iconic Black folks’ recipe to the cookout or family gathering! There are unwritten rules about who can make it, how it should be made, and when it’s appropriate to serve it. These rules are not explicitly stated but are deeply ingrained in our cultural traditions.
Black people take their potato salad seriously when it’s brought to a big gathering like a cookout or holiday event. It’s a sacred and protected dish for a reason – that’s why it’s not called “Black people potato salad” for nothing!
So, what’s special about Black America’s potato salad?
Soul food, a term used to describe the traditional cuisine of African Americans in the Southern United States, is all about seasoning to perfection. The flavor! The same holds true for a Black folks’ Southern potato salad recipe.
As The Root’s insightful piece points out, Why Black People Care So Damn Much About Potato Salad, Explained: “There are so many different ways to fuck up a batch of potato salad because it involves so many different ingredients, and there are so many other ways to make it. You can not boil the potatoes long enough. Or cut them into big-ass chunks. You can add too much — or too little — mayo and/or mustard.”
Best soul food potato salad recipe
So, if you like potato salad, you might agree with The Root that a novice in the kitchen won’t do the trick when it comes to making the best soul food potato salad recipe to please the masses.
Experience in the kitchen, which is a reflection of your past recipe performances, plays a significant role in the approval ratings for making soul food recipes for family gatherings. This respect for tradition is a key aspect of Black American culinary practices.
So, obviously, grandmas, mamas, and aunties who are in charge of bringing the coveted cookout potato salad have high approval ratings!
This is the same unwritten rule for most Black folks’ dressing recipes, especially for the Thanksgiving cornbread dressing and Black folks’ chicken and dressing!
Does every Black person over 50 know how to make potato salad?
Pretty much. Except for a small batch of 5-percenters. That being not of the 95% of Black people over 50 who know how to make Southern-style potato salad.
I’m specifically referring to those who brought a potato salad recipe to the cookout that ended up making everyone sick. Now you understand the question, “Who made the potato salad?”
So whether it’s the flavor or the experienced hands that prepared it in the kitchen, there is undoubtedly a protected legacy surrounding this dish, which makes potato salad special to Black Americans.
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