Name: Eat Smart Mexican Potato Soup
Ingredients: 1 large baking potato, peeled, cubed; 2 cups fat-free half-and-half; 1 cup corn kernels; ½ small red bell pepper, finely chopped; 2 tsp minced jalapeño, seeds and veins removed; ½ cup water; 1½ tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp chili powder; salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; Tabasco, to taste; 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Why it works: Potato and corn match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 938 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. 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.

Potato + corntop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together938 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Corn + cumintop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together798 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Pepper + cumintop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,382 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Potato + cumintop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together972 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,305 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

Baking potato: Its starch thickens the soup as the cubes break down, giving body and a creamy texture.
Fat-free half-and-half: Provides creaminess and body without added fat, softening the spice heat.
Corn kernels: Add natural sweetness and a tender bite that contrasts with the smooth base.
Ground cumin: Contributes warm, earthy aroma that defines the Mexican character of the soup.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, pepper, cumin):

Capsicumfits better
Carrotfits better
Spinachfits better
Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, pepper, cumin. 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
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Eat Smart Mexican Potato Soup