Name: Hash Brown Frittata
Ingredients: 12 oz. russet potato, peeled and finely grated; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1 1/2 Tbs. all-purpose flour; 7 eggs; 3 oz. ham steak, about 1/8 inch thick, cut into; 2 1/2-by-1/4-inch strips; 3 oz. cheddar cheese, grated; 4 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; Freshly ground pepper, to taste; 2 Tbs. unsalted butter

Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

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.

Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,855 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Potato + cheddar cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together932 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cheddar cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,436 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,305 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, ham, cheddar cheese, parsley, pepper, butter):

Chivefits about as well
Potatothe original
Shallotfits about as well
Capsicumfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, ham, cheddar cheese, parsley, pepper, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Hash Brown Frittata