Historians believe that the word “tartar” has an etymological origin with the Tatars, a group of people from Western Russia and Turkey. Legend has it, they ate roughly shredded meat in order to make the tough protein more palatable. This treatment of meat could be the origins of the more refined French classic.

Tartar sauce (French: sauce tartare; spelled tartare sauce in the UK, Ireland, and Commonwealth countries) is a condiment made of mayonnaise, chopped pickles and relish, caper, and herbs such as tarragon and dill.

Wondering what's in tartar sauce? It's typically made with mayonnaise, chopped pickles or relish, lemon juice, and herbs (like tarragon and dill). There are also a handful of optional ingredients you can add that take the tartar sauce's flavor to the next level. For example, this recipe includes yellow mustard.