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Cathy's Potato Soup

A creamy potato soup made with potatoes, onions, celery, milk, butter, flour, salt, and pepper.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Cathy's Potato Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Cook the potatoes and onions in salted water until soft.

Make and serve the soup

  1. Scald the milk with the celery, then remove the celery and add the butter and flour, which are creamed together.

  2. Add the prepared potatoes to the milk and season with salt and pepper.

  3. Bring to a boil and serve at once.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

923Calories
27 gProtein
21 gFat
157 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

  3. Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,047 recipes

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

  4. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Break down while cooking to give the soup body and a thick, creamy texture.
Milk
Forms the creamy liquid base of the soup.
Flour
Thickens the milk as its starch swells with heat, giving the soup body.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel to the soup.
Onion
Adds savory aroma and a mild sweetness as it softens.

The step that matters

Adding the butter and flour to the milk. Flour clumps if it hits hot liquid unblended. Creaming it with butter first coats the starch grains so they disperse evenly. Once heated, the starch swells and thickens the milk, so the soup stays smooth rather than lumpy.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, potato, milk, onion, pepper, butter):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Garlicfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, potato, milk, onion, pepper, butter. 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.

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