The ingredients in Russian Potato Salad are diced boiled potatoes as well as hard boiled eggs, carrots, sweet peas and pickles, which are all bound together in a creamy mayonnaise dressing.
The common ingredients in Russian Potato Salad are vegetables like diced boiled potatoes and carrots, protein like chopped hard boiled eggs and for the crunch and tang, diced dill pickles or gherkins and sweet green peas, which can be canned or frozen or thawed green peas.
Other common add ins to the Russian Potato Salad are meat, which includes cubed summer sausage which can be bologna/kielbasa or ham are all standard additions in the traditional Slavic version of the Russian Potato Salad.
Finely chopped yellow or green onion for extra bite and fresh herbs like chopped fresh dill are used in Russian Potato Salad.
For the dressing for Russian Potato Salad, mayonnaise is the primary binder, which is often lightened with a bit of sour cream or even plain Greek yogurt and seasoning is salt and black pepper.
The difference between Russian Potato Salad and regular potato salad is that the regular potato salad contains fewer vegetables than Russian Potato Salad and is often limited to a bit of diced pickles, celery and diced onion.
Regular potato salad is often also free of meat and is also chunkier than Russian Potato Salad.
Russian Potato Salad is also known as Olivier Salad and is a hearty, creamy combination of finely cubed ingredients.
Unlike regular potato salad, the Russian Potato Salad is a rich, meal like dish that is loaded with diced meats, peas and carrots.
Russian Potato Salad is traditionally made with diced ham, bologna or specialty sausage like Doktorskaya, and mixed with sweet green peas, carrots, hard boiled eggs and dill pickles.
Regular, American style potato salad is often vegetarian without any meat and is more vegetable forward, and combines with onion, celery and sometimes relish.
All the ingredients in Russian Potato Salad are painstakingly diced to the exact size of a green pea, which makes it very uniform.
The ingredients in regular potato salad is often roughly chopped, leaving larger, distinct chunks of potato and celery.
Russian potato salad is also held together almost exclusively using rich mayonnaise, which is sometimes balanced with a splash of pickle brine or a touch of sour cream.
Regular potato salad, uses varying dressings, which can be mustard heavy, mayonnaise based or even vinegar and oil based.
Russian potato salad is also considered to be a festive centerpiece and is an essential staple for holiday spreads and New Year's Eve celebrations in Slavic and Eastern European cultures.
And regular potato salad is often served as a casual side dish for summer picnic, potlucks or backyard barbecues.