Why it works: Vinegar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,922 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Boil a dozen fair-sized potatoes with skins on, then peel, cool, and slice.
Boil 2 eggs hard, chop the whites finely, and rub the yolks into a bowl through a fine sieve.
Chop a small onion finely and add it to the egg whites.
Make the dressing
Add gradually 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil to the yolks.
Season with pepper and salt, then add 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar.
Assemble and serve
Place sliced potatoes in a salad bowl, mix the egg whites and onions through with a silver fork, pour the dressing over, and mix thoroughly.
Add more seasoning if necessary.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| 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.
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Vinegar + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Vinegar and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 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
- Potatoes (in the method)
- Form the bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing as they are sliced and mixed.
- Eggs
- Yolks are rubbed smooth and blended with oil to make a creamy base; whites add chopped texture.
- Salad oil
- Adds richness and fat, emulsifying with the egg yolks into a smooth dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil and yolks.
- Onion (in the method)
- Adds sharp aroma and a bit of crunch to the salad.
The step that matters
Adding the oil gradually to the yolks. Adding oil slowly lets the yolks emulsify it into a smooth, stable dressing; adding it all at once can make the dressing split or greasy.
“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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