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New England Potato Salad

A potato salad made with long white potatoes, hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, pickle juice, and seasonings.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

New England Potato Salad

serves 10

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the potatoes

  1. Cut unpeeled potatoes in half.

  2. Cook until tender when tested with a knife. Do not overcook.

  3. Peel the potatoes by scraping them lightly with a knife and cut them into ½ inch (1.25 cm) cubes.

  4. Place potatoes in a large bowl and let them come to room temperature.

Make the dressing and combine

  1. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, pickle juice and sugar and stir until smooth.

  2. Add the mayonnaise mixture, minced onion, parsley, celery seed and chopped eggs to the potatoes.

  3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Stir lightly to combine.

Serve

  1. Place in large serving bowl.

  2. Sprinkle with paprika.

  3. Cover.

  4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

345Calories
12 gProtein
6 gFat
63 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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. Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

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

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

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

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

  4. Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,855 recipes

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

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Provide the bulk and starchy body of the salad, holding their shape when cubed and cooked just until tender.
Mayonnaise
Adds fat and creaminess, binding the potatoes into a moist, rich dressing.
Sweet pickle juice
Adds acidity and sweetness, seasoning the dressing and balancing the richness of the mayonnaise.
Hard boiled eggs
Add richness and a soft, creamy texture that blends into the dressing.
Onion
Adds sharp aroma and bite that mellows during chilling.

The step that matters

Do not overcook the potatoes. Potatoes that are overcooked become mushy and fall apart when cubed and stirred. Testing with a knife and stopping once tender keeps the cubes intact and gives the salad a pleasant texture.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, egg, parsley, celery, sugar, pepper):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, egg, parsley, celery, sugar, 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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