Apples Are The Secret For An Egg Salad That Stands Out

At every barbecue, picnic, and party, a good bowl of egg salad seldom goes untouched. The dish is a creamy, delicious hit, with a mild flavor that appeals to many. Everyone has their own special twist to put on it, but when you're looking to impress, include apples in your egg salad.

A classic egg salad contains mayo, with a few minced red onions and chopped chives sprinkled in. While they deliver a subtle freshness, the dish is still overwhelmingly rich and creamy. Apples provide egg salad with some much-needed texture and a delicious flavor to boot. The fruits are one of the absolute best ingredients to elevate egg salad, breaking up the creamy dish with pockets of tartness and giving each bite the perfect amount of crunch.

The fruitiness from the apples plays well with the herbs typically added to egg salads. Chives bring out the acidity of the apples, infusing it with a pungent, onion-like taste. Meanwhile, dill and apple have a similar sweet brightness, with dill taking on a pleasant citrusy tone that complements the fruit. 

You could also try adding other herbs to the egg salad. The woodsiness of rosemary deepens the apple's flavor, transforming the dish from a regular egg salad into something a little more refined. Sage is another great pair to apple — minty with a peppery undertone, it'll brighten up the egg salad.

The most popular types of apples lean a little sweeter with a slight sharpness — these are the ones that perform well in egg salads. Take Golden Delicious apples, for example. They have a pleasant tanginess with a honeyed flavor commonly paired with more complex spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, making them perfect for a za'atar egg salad sandwich. Za'atar is a spice blend filled with nutty, herbaceous, and bright flavors and Golden Delicious apples can match them all.

Speaking of honey, Honeycrisp apples are among the most toothsome of all. With hardly an ounce of tartness, they're great for a deviled egg salad. Filled with white balsamic vinegar, pickle relish, mayo, and Dijon mustard, this salad is the epitome of tart. Honeycrisp apples can be a little saccharine, but that's exactly what this vinegary salad needs.

For a standard creamy egg salad, a simple gala apple will do. It has a delectably crisp bite with the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The apple brings enough flavor on its own, but if you want to upgrade the egg salad, add a few capers in there for a briny touch. Avocado and cucumbers are also great additions, especially if you add too many apples and the salad comes out sweet.