Over the past week, I've learned that many people love tartar sauce, and that a lot of people make their own.
Lois Fischer, for instance, believes that fish has no taste. “It's all in the tartar sauce,” she wrote in an email.
She used to love the tartar sauce made by an Aberdeen grocery store. She was sad when the store stopped making it. After a few commercial sauces didn't measure up, Fischer decided to make her own.
To make her version, start with a cup and a half of mayonnaise. It has to be mayo, she says. Add a generous amount of sweet pickle relish — perhaps cup — and then add lemon juice. “I use the lemon juice that comes in a container that looks like a lemon and I add one generous squeeze of the container,” she writes.
Then comes a small amount of artificial sweetener. Fischer likes artificial sweetener because it blends in better than sugar. She stirs it all up, and then tastes it. “If it needs to be sweeter, add more pickle relish or sweetener. Just keep adding small amounts of everything until it tastes to your liking,” Fischer writes. “I seldom use more lemon. I guess you could add some ground pepper, too, if you desire.”
Her husband, Tracy, likes her tartar sauce. “You can make as big a container as you want because it keeps for a long time,” she writes. “You will never buy another commercial jar of tartar sauce.”
Antonia Rose Reed agrees that when it comes to seafood, it's all about the sauce. “Even with shrimp, I prefer tartar sauce. Cocktail sauce is just nasty,” she wrote.
When Reed orders a Filet-O-Fish from McDonald's, she orders it with extra tartar sauce. “I don't really care how ‘messy’ it is,” she wrote. “That's why they make napkins.”
When she has fish at home, she always makes her own tartar sauce. “It's so easy and sooo tasty,” she writes. “I use Miracle Whip, hamburger dill slices (chopped fine) and lemon juice. Adjust amounts according to taste and texture preference.”
Like all people of good taste, Reed believes that “the world would be a much sadder place without tartar sauce.”
I've talked to other people about our favorite sauce this week. One guy uses jalapeno mayonnaise to give his a kick.
I think our oldest son, Benj, feels slightly guilty about cleaning out our tartar sauce supply over Christmas.
Benj, who lives on the East coast, wrote that “Maybe for next Christmas I'll just get you guys a huge Costco tartar sauce jug.”
Jeff Bahr is an American News reporter. His email address is jbahr@aberdeennews.com. His phone number is 605-622-2320.
