TIme For Lent - Let's Talk Tartar Sauce

Time For Lent - Let's Talk Tartar Sauce

Tartar Sauce goes with fish like salt goes with pepper.   Tartar Sauce is used for many other things as well.  I've actually eaten Frisch's Tartar Sauce on French Fries.  Don't laugh....it's actually very good.

However, it's not exactly cheap at the stores.  The picture isn't the best because I took it with my phone while trying to juggle a couple of items (should have gotten a basket).  The point is the Tartar sauce ranges in price from $2.49 to a sale price on the end of $2.99 (was $3.99) for a pretty good size bottle.  O.K.  Maybe you feel like that's not too bad of a price.  It could last a while right?  So why am I griping???

Now look at the next picture......

O.K. so it's worse than the picture above.  But if you squint a little bit you can make out the ingredients.    Let me see...Water, Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Chopped Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup (why, it already has sugar in it), Modified Food Starch (where's the regular food starch?), Onions, Salt, Eggs, Natural Flavor (what is this?), Mustard, Flour, Xantham Gum (what is that), Parsley, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Dissodium EDTA as Preservatives (OMG), Artificial Flavor (but wait, we already have "Natural Flavor" Right?), Paprika, Spice, Garlic Dried.

Really??????  They are kidding right????

O.K.....let's break this down, four of the ingredients are used in Mayonnaise (Eggs, Soybean Oil, Salt, Vinegar).

So let's look at the list again and take those items out (along with my quips):

Water, Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Chopped Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch , Onions, Salt, Eggs, Natural Flavor , Mustard, Flour, Xantham Gum , Parsley, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Dissodium EDTA as Preservatives, Artificial Flavor , Paprika, Spice, Garlic Dried.

Now, there is one more important ingredient in Tartar Sauce, pickles!!!  You won't find Tartar Sauce anywhere without pickles.  Whether it's dill pickles or sweet pickles is really up to individual taste preference.

So here's the ingredients list again with all of the necessary ingredients for Tartar Sauce marked out.

Water, Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Chopped Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch , Onions, Salt, Eggs, Natural Flavor , Mustard, Flour, Xantham Gum , Parsley, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Dissodium EDTA as Preservatives, Artificial Flavor , Paprika, Spice, Garlic Dried.

Some of the ingredients left are seasonings or spices and I'm good with those but the rest are garbage.

Here's a recipe for basic Tartar Sauce.  Makes one cup.

Basic Tartar Sauce

1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
3/4 cup of light Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Pickles (Dill or Sweet)

You can make this in your food processor.  Just put the egg and vinegar in there and pulse a couple of time to get it mixed up well.  Then turn your processor on the lowest speed and slowly (SLOWLY) pour in the oil.  Pour it in in a thin steady stream.  You want the processor to have a chance to mix the ingredients well and for the mixture to thicken.  Once it thickens, scrap it out into a bowl and add your pickles.  Home made tartar sauce.

Now comes the fun part.  Taste a little bit on a spoon.  Need some salt?  Add a little.  Like yours with a little onion, Add a little bit of minced onion.  Add in Sweet Pickle Relish if you want.  Choice is yours.

You can make fresh Tartar Sauce for a fraction of the cost of the store bought kind and just look at all of the junk you won't be putting into your system.

Next time.......Fried Fish

Hugs,



r.gullett@insightbb.com