Why it works: Ginger and potato work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 992 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Yeast
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel 1 dozen good potatoes, cover with water and boil until done. Mash in the pot.
Cover 2 handfuls hops with water and boil until the strength is extracted — about 1 hour. Strain into the potatoes.
Ferment and store
Add 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon each of ginger and salt, and 2 cakes yeast foam.
Let rise all out 24 hours, until bottles not too full and cork loosely.
It will keep several weeks.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Hop | not in our table | 0 |
| Cake | 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Ginger + potatotop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together992 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Hops + gingertop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Sugar + potatotop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Hops + potatotop 39% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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
- Yeast foam
- Ferments the sugars, producing gas that makes the liquid rise and turn lively.
- Potatoes
- Supply starch and body to the liquid, giving the brew a thicker, fuller texture.
- Sugar
- Provides food for the yeast, driving fermentation and building alcohol and carbonation.
- Hops
- Add bitterness and aromatic character that balances the sweetness of the brew.
The step that matters
Let rise all out 24 hours, until bottles not too full and cork loosely. Fermentation produces carbon dioxide, which builds pressure in sealed bottles. Leaving room in the bottle and corking loosely lets gas escape so the bottles do not burst.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (hops, sugar, ginger):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against hops, sugar, ginger. 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.
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