Can you freeze potato salad?

After yesterday's graduation party for Thing1, I have about 8 pounds of potato salad left over. Don't worry, it was on ice in a cooler the whole time.

Can it be frozen for later use, or am I better off just dumping it now before it spoils?

I had to think about this for a minute, because though it seems possible to freeze spud salad, I'm not sure I've ever seen it done -- and there's got to be a reason for that. Mayo may not survive the freezing process very well.

Why don't you try it though? The worse that can happen is that you'll have to dump it, which you would otherwise have to do anyway.

It is my experience that the freezing process will cause the mayo to lose a good portion of it's emulsification, breaking it down and making the thawed product mushy and wet. I've never frozen potato salad, but I have been served mayo based salads that were previously frozen.

The results may be edible to some, but overall, not good.

Best,
Michael

I would agree with EatChicago - mayo would probably break down in the freezing process making the product likely unpalatable.

HI,

The potatoes will be gritty and soggy when defrosted.

Why not give it away to friends and neighbors? Day old potato salad isn't the worse thing to be given away.

Regards,