Compared by formula
Macaroni Salad
Compared by formula.
A pasta salad dressed heavy enough to be its own side, and how sweet the dressing gets against the mayo.
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Macaroni Salad
from sugarspunrun.com
Where your pick sits among all 47
Every dot is one published recipe, placed by its measured formula. The ring is your pick — click any other dot to see that version.
What cooks found out
Read from 343 reviews across all 47 recipes. The counts are how many cooks report it — including where they disagree.
Cutting back on (or omitting) the added sugar reliably pulls perceived sweetness down, typically into the 2-5 range.
More vinegar/acid in the dressing (or simply not cutting it back) pushes tang scores up toward 7-8, while halving the vinegar or mustard pulls tang down to about 5.
Overcooking vegetables, holding the salad warm for an extended time (crockpot, long roasting), or squeezing liquid out of shredded veg collapses crunch to the bottom of the scale.
Swapping sweet pickle relish for dill (or leaving relish out entirely) drops perceived sweetness to the bottom of the scale.
Cutting the mayo (swapping in plain yogurt, or leaving it out) reliably tanks creaminess, while adding extra mayo or a rich buttermilk substitute lifts creaminess toward the top of the scale.