Name: Jadi's Healthy Potato Salad
Ingredients: 2 lbs new potatoes -- unpeeled; 4 tbsp low-sodium, defatted chicked; broth; 4 tbsp wine vinegar; 1 tsp dry mustard; black pepper, to taste; 3 tbsp olive oil (may use 2 t.); 1/2 cup green onions (may use; chopped red onions) --; thinly sliced; 1/4 cup fresh parsley -- chopped

Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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.

Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,855 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,649 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 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

New potatoes: Provide the main starchy body of the salad, holding their shape when steamed until just tender.
Chicken broth: Adds moisture and savory flavor that the potatoes absorb while still warm.
Wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the starch and oil.
Olive oil: Adds fat and richness, carrying flavor through the salad.
Green onions: Add sharp aroma and a mild bite that cuts through the richness.

The step that matters

Dressing the potatoes while they are warm. Warm potatoes are more porous, so they absorb the broth and vinegar mixture more fully. Adding the dressing to cold potatoes leaves the flavor sitting on the surface instead of inside the slices.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, wine, vinegar, mustard, pepper, olive, parsley):

Shallotfits better
Broccolifits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, wine, vinegar, mustard, pepper, olive, 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

Jadi's Healthy Potato Salad