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Potato Salad

A potato salad with bacon, eggs, onions, and a vinegar-based dressing.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and parsley 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 ↓

Potato Salad

Time5–10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the potatoes and bacon

  1. Cook bacon strips, cut into small pieces, and set aside for later.

  2. Boil potatoes for 5–10 minutes or until softened; cut into small chunks or thick slices.

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

Make the dressing

  1. In a bowl combine flour, celery seed, parsley, chopped onion, salt, and pepper.

  2. Pour the water and vinegar into a pot, stir in sugar and bring to a boil.

  3. Add the dry mixture and stir until thickened.

Combine and serve

  1. In the original bowl place potatoes and bacon, pour on thickened mixture.

  2. Break apart eggs and stir lightly into the bowl to combine.

  3. Place in large serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

846Calories
28 gProtein
10 gFat
158 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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. Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  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
Provide the bulk of the salad and hold their shape when cut into chunks.
Bacon
Adds savoury, smoky fat and flavour throughout the salad.
Flour
Thickens the vinegar and water mixture into a smooth, creamy dressing.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and richness of the dressing.
Sugar
Sweetens the dressing and offsets the sharpness of the vinegar.
Hard boiled eggs
Add richness and soft texture when lightly stirred into the salad.

The step that matters

Add the dry mixture and stir until thickened. Flour must be stirred into the hot liquid long enough to cook fully and thicken; if it is lumpy or undercooked, the dressing will be pasty and taste floury.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, sugar, celery, egg, flour, vinegar, 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.

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