Name: Amish Counrty Potato Soup
Ingredients: 8 slices lean bacon; 1/4 cup celery, chopped; 1/2 cup onions, chopped; 3 cups potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes (3 med); 2 1/2 cups water; 1 (12 ounces) can evaporated milk; 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (very important); 2 tablespoons parsley, minced; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/4 teaspoon celery salt; 1 bay leaf

Why it works: Celery and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 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.

Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Evaporated milk + saucetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together53 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,855 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes: Provide the bulk of the soup and, when partly mashed, thicken its body.
Bacon: Adds smoky, savory fat that flavors the base of the soup.
Evaporated milk: Adds creaminess and richness to the broth without the thinness of fresh milk.
Onions: Build sweetness and aroma as they soften in the bacon fat.
Celery: Adds a mild, herbal aroma and savory background flavor.

The step that matters

Mash lightly, leaving about 1/4 whole. Mashing only part of the potatoes releases starch that thickens the broth while leaving chunks for texture. Mashing too much turns the soup gluey or pasty.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, potato, evaporated milk, sauce, parsley, pepper):

Carrotfits better
Capsicumfits better
Mustardfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, potato, evaporated milk, sauce, parsley, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Amish Counrty Potato Soup