Name: Potato Salad
Ingredients: a saltspoonful of mixed mustard; one egg hard; one tea- spoon of vinegar; vinegar; salt; pepper; mustard

Why it works: Mustard and vinegar 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

Make the dressing

Boil one egg hard.
When cold, take out the yolk and rub it to a pulp with a wooden spoon.
Add a raw yolk, one teaspoon of vinegar, one of flour, one of salad oil, a little salt and pepper, a saltspoonful of mixed mustard, and a tablespoonful of sweet butter.

Assemble the salad

Cut some cold boiled potatoes into thin slices.
Pour the mixture over the sliced potatoes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

90Calories

7 gProtein

6 gFat

2 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 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.

By Gibson, Marietta Fauntleroy Hollyday, "Mrs. C. H. Gibson.". Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,430 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,814 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Tea + peppertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together260 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Mustard + teatop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together67 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg yolk: Thickens the dressing and helps bind the oil and vinegar into a smooth emulsion.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the fats.
Mustard: Adds sharp flavour and helps stabilise the emulsion so the dressing stays smooth.
Flour (in the method): Thickens the dressing so it clings to the potato slices instead of running off.
Salad oil (in the method): Provides fat for a smooth, silky texture and mild richness in the dressing.
Sweet butter (in the method): Adds richness and a rounder, creamier flavour to the dressing.