Watery egg salad - what to do?

[Summerfield]

After I make some version of egg salad and place it in the fridge overnight for the next day's lunch, invariably the beautiful consistency of the salad that went into the fridge is lost by morning. The consistency goes from firm to watery or runny. Does anyone have a tip on how to prevent this from happening? I use Hellman's light-blue label low-fat mayo.

[coll]

An old deli trick would be to add a handful of Japanese breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture (and lower the food cost, you see this alot with lobster salad). Won't change the taste at all.

[Summerfield]

Interesting. I just happen to have Japanese breadcrumbs in pantry.

[macca]

Probably tyhe low fat mayo. Whenever I am using low fat, I mix right before eating. And with both tuna and egg salad, with either low fat or ragulat mayo, I alsways make the sandwich right before eating, too.

[mojoeater]

I have the same problem when making any salad with light mayo. It just doesn't stick together as well as with regular mayo.

[Summerfield]

Thanks for all the good ideas. I will make sure that the eggs are properly cooled down before peeling and I will add the mayo just before I make the sandwiches. I'm gettin' hungry.

[kobetobiko]

You can mix the ingredients without the mayo first, and just gently blend the mayo in before you eat. This will prevent it from getting water down by the food or the mayo breaking up.

[smartie]

make sure your eggs are properly dry before you make the salad.

[alaughingdog]

I wonder about the salt pulling water out of the veggies over time -- possible?

[Summerfield]

In addition to the low-fat mayo, I added finely chopped almost minced onions, finely chopped celery, very finely chopped plain parsley, a bit of dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. I did cool the eggs in cold water (but maybe not long enough?). I dried the peeled eggs with a paper towel. I chopped the eggs coarsely. I used no lemon.

[Oh Robin]

It has to be the celery. Has a lot of water. Maybe try adding just before consuming?

[Hungry Celeste]

I don't think it's the celery, it's almost certainly the finely, finely chopped onions. Onions are almost all water. They seem dry if you chop them just before using, but try chopping & resting overnight in the fridge and you'll see where all the water is coming from! If you can stand it, use onion powder. Or keep the onions separate until you're ready to eat, drain, then stir in. I'm having homemade egg salad on a bagel for lunch today.

[Oh Robin]

Celery is almost all water also. But I do agree with the comment that salt could be bringing out the water in both vegetables.

[Hungry Celeste]

I routinely prep gallon bags of chopped celery and onions several hours before cooking in large quantities. The chopped celery releases a little water...perhaps a 1/4 cup per gallon bag, but the onions--jeez--it can be as much as 2 cups of water per gallon released after 4-6 hours.

[Summerfield]

So. Onions are the culprit. I guess I've some experimenting to do.

[YumYumDeb]

You might try using something with less water, but still with onion flavor - like green onion or chives (though that's milder) - you could try shallots maybe.

[debbiel]

Yup...I use scallions. I also like the bit of color it adds.

[Summerfield]

Do you use just the green part or, do you cut in the little white onion-type bulb too?

[debbiel]

I use both the green and white parts.

[Diane in Bexley]

I get around this by using dried onions if I am refrigerating overnight. Always use fresh ingredients, but the driend onions cure this problem all the time.

[Hungry Celeste]

I use chives rather than white onions in dry things, too.

[aelph]

I notice if I mix in even a negligible amount of lemon before putting it in the fridge it can turn a bit watery. I use regular mayo.

[Oh Robin]

I use that same brand and have no problem. You're probably using too much mayo. What else do you put in it?

[pamd]

this topic has come up before....I actually notice mine to be watery when I use low fat/light rather than regular mayo. Also might depend on the celery. I just made a batch yesterday with celery (dried well) & regular Hellman's mayo- it was not watery at all today.

[YumYumDeb]

I agree that celery that isn't very well dried will ooze water when cut and left sitting in the salad.

[monkfanatic]

I bet you didn't wait for the egg to cool down, the heat melt the mayo. you have to sock the egg in the cold water, be patient