Why it works: Potato and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,355 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Potato Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Boil 3 medium potatoes until tender, then mash finely.
Add salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, a large tablespoonful of lard, a cup of milk, a well beaten egg, and a yeast cake dissolved in the milk.
Stir in flour until the dough is stiff.
Set the dough in a warm place at 12 o’clock (if desired for tea).
Shape and rise
At 4 o’clock, mix in more flour, roll out, and cut with a cake cutter.
Set the cut pieces to rise again.
At 6 o’clock, the dough should be light.
Bake
Bake for 10 minutes in a hot oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| 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.
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.
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Add moisture and a soft, tender crumb to the muffins.
- Yeast cake (in the method)
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise and become light.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together as it rises and bakes.
- Egg (in the method)
- Adds richness and helps bind the dough for a tender texture.
- Lard (in the method)
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and softens the texture.
The step that matters
Judging the second rise. The dough should look light before baking. If it is underproofed, the muffins stay dense; the yeast needs time and warmth to produce gas that expands the dough.
“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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