Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice several cold boiled potatoes and one large onion; season with salt and pepper.
Take the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs; slice the whites with the potatoes.
Make the dressing
Stir the yolks and potato mixture to a creamy consistency.
Beat in two teaspoons of sugar, one teaspoon of made mustard, one teaspoon of white mustard seed, two tablespoonfuls of salad oil, and one-half teacup of vinegar.
Serve
Pour the dressing over the salad and set on ice until served.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Salad | not in our table | 0 |
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.
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Tea + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together260 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes (in the method)
- Form the bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing's flavour and moisture.
- Egg yolks
- Mashed into the dressing, they add richness and a creamy, thickened texture.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat and smooth mouthfeel, carrying flavour and coating the potatoes.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness of the yolks and oil.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that rounds out and softens the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Onion
- Contributes a sharp, aromatic bite that mellows during chilling.
The step that matters
Stirring the yolks and potato mixture to a creamy consistency. Mashing the yolks thoroughly lets them blend smoothly with the other ingredients. Well-worked yolks help bind the oil and vinegar into a stable, creamy dressing rather than a separated, greasy one.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, tea, sugar, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, tea, sugar, vinegar, 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.
More potato salad recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.