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Easy Old-fashioned Potato Soup

A simple potato soup made with diced potatoes, onion, evaporated milk, salt, and pepper.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 4 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 ↓

Easy Old-fashioned Potato Soup

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Cover potatoes and onions with water in a large pot.

  2. Boil uncovered until potatoes are fork tender.

  3. Add milk, salt and pepper to taste and simmer until slightly thickened.

  4. Serve hot, especially good with a slice of buttered cornbread.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

360Calories
14 gProtein
8 gFat
60 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Onion1 medium (110g)44
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. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

  4. Potato + evaporated milktop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together128 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Onion + evaporated milktop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together235 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Break down during simmering to give the soup body and a starchy, thick texture.
Evaporated milk
Adds creaminess and richness, and thickens slightly as it simmers.
Onion
Adds savory depth and aroma as it softens in the cooking water.

The step that matters

Simmering after adding the milk. Evaporated milk can scorch or separate if boiled hard, so keep the heat gentle and stir while it thickens.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Onionthe original
  4. Tomatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, evaporated milk, 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.

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