Tested: this is the tastiest Russian salad from the supermarket

At most children’s parties and barbecues, it gets eaten by the trayful, but in the snack bar display case it always looks a little forlorn. Of course, we’re talking about Russian salad. Which Russian salad from the supermarket is the tastiest? And which one is best left in the refrigerated section? We found out for you.

The difference between Russian salad, Russian egg salad and beef salad isn’t so easy to define. They all look pretty much the same: a generous spoonful of salad with potato, celery and carrot, topped with a large dollop of mayonnaise and a slice of egg. Garnish: diced carrot. We also find a large tub in the supermarket, without all those decorations, and a salad that actually looks more like the kind of salad you spread on a sandwich. Which one is the tastiest? And which one tastes the worst?

Tastiest Russian salad from the supermarket

Potato, pickle

The differences between the salads aren’t that great. In some salads, we taste a little more pickle, making them somewhat more sour; some salads contain more potato and have a neutral flavour. The mayonnaise on the salad also makes a big difference: it makes the salad creamy and fresh. And those strange little carrot cubes on top—what are you supposed to do with them? We didn’t taste them, but pushed them aside a little. The presentation doesn’t do the salads any favours: the aluminium trays don’t look inviting, nor do the round tubs.

Original version

All the tasters agree on the winner: Vomar’s Russian egg salad. Sabina says: ‘Delicious, this is what Russian salad should taste like.’ And Rick says: ‘Lovely and creamy.’ Louise likes the texture of the salad, and Sharon is delighted by the mayonnaise-to-vegetable ratio. Strangely enough, Karaat’s Russian salad (available at Dekamarkt, Dirk and Jumbo) doesn’t go down well, even though it looks like the quintessential Russian salad: a round tub, a little ice-cream scoop, and those carrot cubes again. ‘Sour, sour, sour,’ says Sharon. It is supposed to contain pieces of meat, but we don’t see any.

Stewed beef

Dirk’s beef salad is another favourite among the tasters. ‘You can really see those little strands of stewed beef,’ says Rick. ‘It’s not sour at all either,’ says Louise, ‘while you can clearly taste the meat and the other ingredients.’ Aldi’s beef salad is a disappointment: it tastes of nothing, we have no idea what we’re eating, it has a strange colour and a strange aftertaste. Plus’s meat salad is a complete mystery: it contains apple, but nobody can taste it. It mainly tastes sour; we taste pickle and celery—but no meat, which you would expect. And the large tub of Russian salad, also from Plus, is no success. Dry, not creamy like the other salads.

Costs next to nothing

These little salads are ridiculously cheap. The cheapest one costs just 29 cents for such a small tub. But the test shows that spending a few extra cents pays off. That cheapest salad tastes of nothing; there isn’t a single recognisable ingredient, while the winning salad from Vomar costs only 16 cents more.

One more bite

No, we stand by our verdict: the winner is Vomar’s Russian egg salad. ‘So delicious, I’ll have another bite,’ says Louise. And the salad that evoked the most nostalgia in everyone, Karaat’s salad, crashed spectacularly: from now on, leave it in the refrigerated section and cherish your memories of school trips with this salad and a bag of white bread rolls.

Also read:

• We tasted the Russian salads flavoured like kroket and frikandel, and this is what we thought
• You can now buy kapsalon sandwich spread at Lidl—and this is what it tastes like
• This is the lemon mayonnaise of your dreams