Wake Up Boring Egg Salad With This Tangy Pantry Ingredient

Egg salad is far from fancy. Yet, it manages to hit the right gustatory notes when scooped onto crackers and slathered into sandwiches — at least, it does most of the time. Occasionally, egg salad misses the mark. While working in a bunch of flavorful extras can help transform a one-dimensional egg salad, it really only takes one pantry staple to revamp the recipe. The next time you're at a loss, remember that all it takes to improve egg salad is a splash of apple cider vinegar.

At its core, apple cider vinegar is a fermented condiment made from apples. Similar to other vinegar varieties, it teems with a crisp acidity. This tartly tangy quality is exactly what can give bland egg salad dimension. In addition to offsetting the recipe's decadence, the vinegar can brighten other flavors in the egg salad and create a more harmonious bite. What's more? Apple cider vinegar boasts a richly nuanced flavor profile that makes it especially valuable when worked into egg salad. With a fruity and apple-forward undertone, it teases hints of florality, earthiness, and sweetness that will enliven the lackluster egg salad with layers of complexity.

Aside from enhancing flavor, adding a touch of apple cider to egg salad won't jeopardize texture. Since the punchy ingredient can be used sparingly, recipes will remain lusciously creamy, but taste leaps and bounds better.

When introducing apple cider vinegar into egg salad, the first step is selecting the right bottle. Of the many options that line supermarket shelves, we recommend choosing raw renditions or anything unfiltered since they'll usually offer more intense flavor as opposed to pasteurized options. Alternatively, you can experiment with flavored apple cider vinegars that have been co-fermented with ingredients such as berries or chilis.

As for how much apple cider vinegar to stir into egg salad, less is more. Amounts are likely to vary based on the recipe, however, we suggest using no more than a teaspoon for a 4-egg batch of egg salad. By keeping quantities modest, this prevents textures from becoming too runny, all while ensuring enough flavor is imparted without throwing off balance. Once the eggs are chopped, simply pour in the apple cider vinegar along with the other condiments and mix until well combined.

Although apple cider vinegar can revamp any dull and drab recipe, this doesn't mean that the ingredient won't also work wonders in more complex salads. For example, it can highlight the brightness of a recipe laden with za'atar, much like it can underline the fruitiness of a sweeter salad complete with chopped apples and walnuts — but that's just the start. Whichever recipe you follow, a touch of apple cider vinegar is guaranteed to transform any egg salad!