Name: Lemon Herb Potatoes
Ingredients: lemom herb potatoes; 6 small baking potatoes; 1/2 cup onion, chopped; 1 tbsp unsalted margarine; 1 cl garlic, minced; 1/4 cup skimmed milk, hot; 1 tsp dill weed; 1/8 tsp white pepper; 1 tsp lemon peel, grated; 1 tbsp parsley; paprika; cheese lemon herb potatoes; veration; 1/2 oz cheese, for each potatoe

Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Dill + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together669 recipes

Shared aroma: p-mentha-1,3,8-triene (camphor, herbal).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Dill + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together976 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Potato + dilltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together423 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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes: Provide the starchy base that mashes into a soft, fluffy filling.
Skimmed milk: Adds moisture and loosens the mashed potato so it spreads smoothly.
Unsalted margarine: Adds fat for richness and a softer, smoother texture.
Garlic: Adds a sharp, savoury aroma to the onion mixture.
Lemon peel: Adds bright citrus aroma and a touch of acidity to the filling.
Cheddar cheese: Melts over the top and browns during the final bake.

The step that matters

Beat in the hot milk while mashing. Hot milk keeps the potato soft and fluffy, while cold milk chills the mash so it stiffens and blends poorly. Overbeating releases too much starch, which makes the filling gluey.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, onion, garlic, milk, dill, lemon, parsley):

Thymefits better
Marjoramfits better
Fennelfits better
White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, onion, garlic, milk, dill, lemon, parsley. 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
Skimmed Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

Lemon Herb Potatoes