From chips to mash to jacket potatoes, there are so many delicious ways to eat spuds, but one dish is particularly perfect for summer. With prime picnic and BBQ season here, it's an ideal time to whip up a potato salad.

The summer staple, potato salad is relatively simple to whip up, but it also runs the risk of tasteless mush. Some recipes substitute mayonnaise with Greek yoghurt for a healthy twist or add pickles to liven up the starchy dish, but there's another ingredient you might want to consider that will transform the dish and leave guests craving more. The idea comes by way of the American south, after one writer shared her granny's secret ingredient.

In a piece for Southern Living, Kaitlyn Yarborough stated her granny's recipe has "flavour goes beyond just mayonnaise and mustard".

While most potato salad recipes suggest mustard or apple cider vinegar, for an extra sharpness to counterbalance the mayonnaise, Kaitlyn clarified that the tangy note in her granny's potato salad that "everyone can't get enough of" is neither of these.

Having suspected mustard was the secret, it turns out that Kaitlyn's grandmother actually uses pickle juice in her potato salad dressing for an extra kick.

Chopped pickles or cornichons are often added to potato salads for a bit of crunch and to balance out the creaminess of the sauce.

Taking it a step further, Kaitlyn suggested trying out adding some pickle juice from the jar, which she says "lends the perfect amount of acidity and saltiness to the dish" due to the brine.

If you're considering adding this to your recipe, remember not to include vinegar as it could make the potato salad overly acidic.

Simply replace your vinegar with pickle juice, using about five tablespoons or double for larger servings.

You can then add the rest of your ingredients as usual, including chopped pickles if you prefer. Other popular additions include celery, shallots, spring onions, and even pancetta for a delicious salad.

Waxy varieties like Yukon Gold or new potatoes are ideal for potato salad, but they need to be stored properly.

Take them out of any plastic packaging and store them in a paper bag or loose in a basket, in a cool, dark part of the kitchen.

Keeping them away from onions and apples, which produce ethylene gas, will also help prevent them from spoiling too quickly.