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Puree of Potato Soup

A creamy potato soup made by boiling potatoes, onions, and milk, thickened with browned flour and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Puree of Potato Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the potato base

  1. Boil about 8 medium-sized potatoes until well done.

  2. Strain and mash the potatoes.

  3. Put the mash back into a pot and boil in cold water.

  4. Add 1 large spoon of flour browned with butter.

  5. Add gravy from roast or chicken, and a little onion if desired.

  6. Boil 5 medium-sized potatoes and 3 small onions cut into small dice in a quart of water until tender.

  7. Add a quart of milk with a good piece of butter.

  8. Thicken slightly.

Finish the soup

  1. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. Boil 4 medium-sized potatoes and 1/2 medium onion in a quart of milk until soft.

  3. Press through a sieve.

  4. Add milk, salt, pepper, and butter the size of a walnut.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

917Calories
27 gProtein
21 gFat
156 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Soupnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog]. 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.

  1. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Break down into starch that thickens the soup and gives it body.
Flour
Browned in butter, it thickens the soup and adds a toasted, nutty flavour.
Milk
Adds creaminess and richness and helps the mashed potato become smooth.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and flavour, and carries the browned flour.
Onions
Add savoury, aromatic sweetness as they soften in the liquid.

The step that matters

Thicken slightly. Flour and starch thicken as they heat, but boiling too long or too hard can make the soup gluey or cause milk to scorch and separate. Keep the heat gentle once milk is added.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, potato, flour, pepper):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, potato, flour, 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.

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