Why it works: Potato and feta cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 98 recipes mention both. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells apple, fatty. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Place the potato pieces, garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain well.
While the potatoes cook, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small skillet over low heat, then keep warm for later use.
Return the drained potatoes and garlic to the pot over low heat for 1 minute to let excess moisture evaporate.
Mash the potatoes and garlic together with a potato masher until mostly smooth.
Add the butter, 6 ounces Greek yogurt and the crumbled feta, stirring until creamy. Add more yogurt if the mixture is too stiff.
Drizzle the warm olive oil over the top and serve immediately.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Potato + feta cheesetop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together98 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
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Olive + feta cheesetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,438 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
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Garlic + olivetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Potato + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,512 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Olive + yogurttop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,633 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the garlic
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, olive, yogurt, feta cheese, butter):
- Garlicthe original
- Dillabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, olive, yogurt, feta cheese, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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