Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Potatoes Au Gratin O'brien
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the potatoes
Boil six medium Irish potatoes in their jackets until well done; set aside to cool, then skin them.
Cut the cooled potatoes into small squares and stir in one cut-up sweet red Mexican pepper (canned).
Make the white sauce
Make a white sauce by melting two tablespoonfuls of butter, adding two tablespoons of flour, then whisking in two cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-half teaspoonful of pepper.
Pour the white sauce over and through the potatoes.
Bake and serve
Transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish and sprinkle a generous quantity of fresh cream cheese grated over the top.
Bake until nicely browned.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
-
Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the dish, giving body and a soft, absorbent texture to the gratin.
- Butter
- Enriches the sauce and helps the flour form a smooth roux, adding richness.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the white sauce, creating a creamy coating for the potatoes.
- Cream cheese (in the method)
- Melts into the sauce and browns on top, adding richness and a savory crust.
The step that matters
Bake until nicely browned. Browning depends on surface heat and dryness; the sauce must be hot and bubbling so the cheese melts and the top caramelises rather than staying pale or soupy.
“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.
You might also like
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Potato Rolls78 recipes
Potato Chips53 recipes
Sweet Potato Croquettes53 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.