The Vibrant Spice Blend That Transforms Egg Salad Into A Flavor Bomb

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Egg salad has been a classic lunchtime staple for well over a century, and for good reason. It's convenient, delightfully fluffy, and best of all, completely customizable. Egg salad is essentially a blank canvas for creative home chefs — from sweet to tangy to spicy, this quintessentially American protein salad can be adapted to meet almost any palate or craving. While there are many ingredients you should be adding to egg salad, one of the easiest and tastiest ways to zhuzh up a basic one is with a few shakes of a golden spice blend you probably already have on hand: curry powder.

Curry powder typically consists of a warm, savory-sweet blend of spices and aromatics like cumin, turmeric, coriander, and black pepper. This richly fragrant blend adds a lovely pop of earthy flavor and gentle heat that pairs beautifully with the mild creaminess of egg salad. Although it's not a super common combination in America, curry powder and egg salad aren't exactly a new pairing – recipes for curried egg salad date back to at least 1912, and the flavor-packed sandwiches are a nostalgic childhood classic in Australia and New Zealand.

Making curried egg salad is as simple as mixing some curry powder into your favorite egg salad recipe before spreading it on a sandwich or scooping it over a salad. However, it's important to keep in mind that there are many varieties of curry powders with diverse flavor profiles, and some are far more potent than others. For example, if you like it spicy, Madras curry powder, like the one by Sun Brand, adds a balanced punch of heat with earthy, citrus notes. On the flip side, sweet curry powder like the Valley of Tea one brings a lovely mild flavor ideal for those who prefer a subtler heat. Don't be afraid to experiment and find the curry powder that works best for your palate.

How much curry powder you add to your egg salad is truly a matter of personal taste, but as a general rule, start with about ¼ teaspoon for every three eggs, and go up from there (remember that adding more curry powder is much easier than removing it). Mix in the curry powder along with the mayo and any other seasonings you fancy — in addition to salt and pepper, consider crunchy alliums such as green onions (which are not the same as chives), tangy citrus juice, a touch of honey for a sweet twist, or a handful of nuts and dried fruits for crunch and texture. And that's it — all that's left to do is slice your sandwich the correct way and enjoy this beautifully simple and majorly flavorful egg salad upgrade.