Why it works: Potato and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,456 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Fried Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel and slice the potatoes into thin rounds.
Cook
Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Add the sliced potatoes and sprinkle with salt.
Fry until golden brown and crispy, turning occasionally.
Serve
Serve hot.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide the starchy body that softens inside while the outside crisps.
- Butter
- Conducts heat evenly and adds fat that promotes browning and a rich flavour.
The step that matters
Fry until golden brown and crispy, turning occasionally. Potato slices need enough heat and room in the pan to brown rather than steam. Turning them occasionally exposes each side to the hot fat so they colour evenly and crisp.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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