Well, I know know that at least one of the mystery ingredients is
capers!!!!!!

Best guess, so far:

Hellman's Mayonnaise
Sweet pickles
Dill pickles
Capers
Onion
(possibly) tad of dry mustard
Poppy or Celery seed
--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 21:57:01 -0700, Nonnymus
wrote:

Well, I know know that at least one of the mystery ingredients is
capers!!!!!!

They're actually a fairly common tartar sauce ingredient--so much so
that I didn't bother mentioning them when first you brought this up,
thinking that 'everybody knows THAT.'

Best guess, so far:

Hellman's Mayonnaise
Sweet pickles
Dill pickles
Capers
Onion
(possibly) tad of dry mustard
Poppy or Celery seed

Interesting.
I've sometimes seen finely chopped red bell pepper--not much--as an
ingredient, too.

-denny-
--

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority.
The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.

Darn, Denny, I never knew that. I only learned of it when I applied a
little of their sauce to a napkin to see what was left after the
mayonnaise was absorbed. There was definitely a whole caper, along with
two distinct kinds of pickles and those little seeds. I'm not a real
chef, and had never heard of capers in tarter sauce before. I know that
they're not a common item in the Carolinas or MO, and was honestly
surprised to find them. They add an unusual flavor and I think that
they're the mystery ingredient. FWIW, I have a Peruvian Pepper growing
in my yard here, and will harvest a few (pounds) of the critters next
summer to see what they can do.

IMHO, Worcestershire sauce in tartar sauce takes away instead of adding
to it. The capers really do make it unusual and good.

Nonny

Denny Wheeler wrote:
On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 21:57:01 -0700, Nonnymus
wrote:

Well, I know know that at least one of the mystery ingredients is
capers!!!!!!

They're actually a fairly common tartar sauce ingredient--so much so
that I didn't bother mentioning them when first you brought this up,
thinking that 'everybody knows THAT.'

Best guess, so far:

Hellman's Mayonnaise
Sweet pickles
Dill pickles
Capers
Onion
(possibly) tad of dry mustard
Poppy or Celery seed

Interesting.
I've sometimes seen finely chopped red bell pepper--not much--as an
ingredient, too.

-denny-
--

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority.
The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.

--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

Nonnymus wrote:
Darn, Denny, I never knew that. I only learned of it when I applied a
little of their sauce to a napkin to see what was left after the
mayonnaise was absorbed. There was definitely a whole caper, along with
two distinct kinds of pickles and those little seeds. I'm not a real
chef, and had never heard of capers in tarter sauce before. I know that
they're not a common item in the Carolinas or MO, and was honestly
surprised to find them. They add an unusual flavor and I think that
they're the mystery ingredient. FWIW, I have a Peruvian Pepper growing
in my yard here, and will harvest a few (pounds) of the critters next
summer to see what they can do.

IMHO, Worcestershire sauce in tartar sauce takes away instead of adding
to it. The capers really do make it unusual and good.

Nonny

It must be regional differences. I've alway put capers in my tartar
sauce. I've never had it without that I can think of.

Kurt

Wow, I never had heard of that until lately. In the SE, a tartar sauce
for fried oysters (yum) is commonly Hellman's, a dash of lemon juice,
chopped and partially crushed onion, chopped and partially crushed dill
pickle and (maybe) a little salt. Some folks put in a dash of
Worcestershire, but I don't like that flavor combination. I learn
something all the time, which makes it all so much fun .

Nonny

Chef Kurt wrote:
Nonnymus wrote:
Darn, Denny, I never knew that. I only learned of it when I applied a
little of their sauce to a napkin to see what was left after the
mayonnaise was absorbed. There was definitely a whole caper, along with
two distinct kinds of pickles and those little seeds. I'm not a real
chef, and had never heard of capers in tarter sauce before. I know that
they're not a common item in the Carolinas or MO, and was honestly
surprised to find them. They add an unusual flavor and I think that
they're the mystery ingredient. FWIW, I have a Peruvian Pepper growing
in my yard here, and will harvest a few (pounds) of the critters next
summer to see what they can do.

IMHO, Worcestershire sauce in tartar sauce takes away instead of adding
to it. The capers really do make it unusual and good.

Nonny

It must be regional differences. I've alway put capers in my tartar
sauce. I've never had it without that I can think of.

Kurt


--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

Nonnymus wrote:

Wow, I never had heard of that until lately. In the SE, a tartar sauce
for fried oysters (yum) is commonly Hellman's, a dash of lemon juice,
chopped and partially crushed onion, chopped and partially crushed dill
pickle and (maybe) a little salt. Some folks put in a dash of
Worcestershire, but I don't like that flavor combination. I learn
something all the time, which makes it all so much fun .

Nonny

Mine is generally just Hellman's, standard pickle relish and prepared
horseradish, leaning towards heavy on the horseradish and light on the
relish. I've always been pretty happy with it.

Pete C.