This Tiny Ingredient Will Boost Your Tuna Salad To Gourmet Status Without Extra Effort

In the sea of fast food places, leftovers, and popular lunch dishes, tuna salad holds a special place in many people's hearts. It's the old, reliable staple of lunchtime cuisine. While there's no room here to knock on the classic tuna salad recipe, a key suggestion can help bring it to the next level. Add capers to your tuna for a bright punch of flavor. Incorporating capers is so easy: once you've mixed up your preferred dressing of mayonnaise, mustard, and tuna, simply toss in as many salty capers as you'd like. Most often, capers are categorized by their size. You'll want to choose a smaller variety (non-pareil or surfines) for tuna salad to ensure even bites

If you're unsure about mixing in capers, taste them beforehand. Their flavor is unique and somewhat addictive (there's a good reason Giada DeLaurentiis' love for Italian capers is boundless). Tastewise, capers provide a zesty, almost lemony flavor and a super savory brine. They taste similar to buttery green olives, with even more acidity and saltiness. Due to their lovely acidity and savory notes, you'll create a tuna dish that appeals to all tastebuds.

Incorporating capers into the mix isn't the only way to change your go-to tuna salad recipe. In addition to the capers, take more creative liberties. Customize the next batch by swapping ingredients, like substituting mayo for a half tablespoon of Dijon mustard. This provides a tanginess with a hint of spice, perfect with the salty capers. 

There are many varieties of mustard out there (each with a distinctive taste), so consider this your guide to all the different kinds of mustard, which can be incredibly flavorful when combined with pungent capers and piled high on top of your favorite slice of bread or buttery crackers. If you want to double down on the punchy, acidic, salty flavor, pair the capers with other pickled vegetables that can really amp up your next tuna salad. This way, every bite of creamy tuna has a burst of briny flavor. Another important perk — incorporating capers and other pickled veggies can create a textural difference in the tuna salad (which can sometimes be mushy), so you have a bit of satiating crunch.