Name: Deluxe Potato Salad
Ingredients: 3 green peppers; 5 lbs potatoes, cooked, peeled; -and cubed; 1 bunch celery, chopped; 2 1/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp pepper; 3/4 cup mayonnaise; 1 tbsp mustard, dijon; 4 can artichoke hearts, chilled; -and drained (8 oz. ea.); 2 tbsp olive slices, pimiento-stffd; sm pickles, whole sweet; parsley springs, fresh; stuffed eggs; 18 eggs, hard-cooked; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; 2 tbsp onion, minced; 1/4 tsp cury powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp pepper; paprika; parsley spring, fresh; 18 slice olives, pimiento-stuffed

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).
Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together116 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Artichoke + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together745 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes: Form the bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing while staying tender-firm.
Eggs: Provide the creamy yolk filling that is mashed and bound with mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise: Adds moisture and richness, binding the salad and the yolk filling together.
Mustard: Adds sharp acidity and aroma that cut through the richness of the mayonnaise.
Celery: Adds crisp texture that contrasts with the soft potatoes.
Artichoke hearts: Add a tender, slightly tangy texture and briny flavor as a platter accent.

The step that matters

Chill the potato salad thoroughly. Cooling lets the mayonnaise set and firm up around the potatoes, so the salad holds its shape and tastes settled rather than loose or greasy when served.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, celery, mustard, artichoke, olive, parsley, egg):

Lettucefits better
Spinachfits better
Shallotfits better
Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, celery, mustard, artichoke, olive, parsley, egg. 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
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Artichoke	1 medium (128g)	60
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Deluxe Potato Salad