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 ↓
Potato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the base
Peel and boil the potatoes for thirty minutes.
Put the milk on to boil with the onion and celery.
Finish and serve
Add the potatoes mashed fine, the butter (into which a tablespoonful of flour has been well stirred) and the salt.
Rub through a colander, and serve immediately.
Do not let the soup stand.
Use a wooden spoon.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| 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.
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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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Celery + potatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,047 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide the body of the soup, as their starch thickens the liquid when mashed.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy liquid base that gives the soup its smooth, soft texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and mouthfeel, and carries the flour for thickening.
- Onion
- Adds savoury aroma to the milk as it heats.
- Celery
- Adds a light, fresh aroma to the milk as it heats.
The step that matters
Serve immediately after straining. Potato starch keeps thickening as the soup cools, so it turns thick and pasty if left to stand. Serving straight away keeps it smooth and fluid.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, potato, onion):
- Garlicfits better
- Thymefits better
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, potato, onion. 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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