Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the potatoes
Boil potatoes in their jackets until cooked.
Let cool, peel, and cut into slices or cubes.
Make and pour the dressing
In a saucepan, combine vinegar, mustard, flour, butter, sugar, salt, pepper, chopped onion, and eggs.
Cook the mixture together until thickened.
Pour the dressing over the potatoes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
-
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Their proteins set when heated, thickening the dressing and adding richness.
- Flour
- Starch swells when cooked with liquid, thickening the dressing so it coats the potatoes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, rounder mouthfeel in the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the dressing its tang and sharpness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Cook the dressing until thickened. Eggs can scramble if the heat is too high, while the flour needs to cook long enough to thicken the sauce fully. Stir steadily and keep the heat moderate so the dressing becomes smooth and thick.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, flour, sugar, butter, egg):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Chivefits about as well
- Cucumberfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, flour, sugar, butter, egg. 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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