Name: 2. Boiled Potatoes.
Ingredients: two teaspoonfuls of butter; one tablespoonful of butter to 1 pint of chopped potato; 1 pint of chopped potato; 1/2 cup of buttered crumbs; 1 quart of white beans; 1 teaspoonful of soda; 4 tablespoonfuls of beef fat; two tablespoonfuls to 1/2 cup; 1 teaspoonful of mustard; a tablespoonful of flour; a teaspoonful of salt to a pint of celery; a pint of celery; a cup of sauce is enough; a pint of white sauce; a teaspoonful of salt; a pint of water; one devised this convenient method of serving; half shell; one hand as you shake; 3 quarts a convenient size; 1/2 full of fat; 10 seconds; three fourths of a cup of sauce is enough; one cabbage leaf at a time; one down; 1/2 cup; one burner is used; one not easily performed in the school kitchen; salt; mustard

Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

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.

Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Beans + mustardtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together852 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Potato + beanstop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together655 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Beans + celerytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,159 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,047 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes (in the method): Provide the main starchy body; their starch softens and turns mellow as they boil.

The step that matters

Test with a fork at the end of half an hour. Potatoes that are not fully cooked stay firm in the centre, while over-boiling makes them waterlogged and crumbly. A fork shows whether the starch has softened through.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, potato, beans, beef, mustard, flour, sauce):

Capersfits better
Tarragonfits about as well
Turmericfits about as well
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, potato, beans, beef, mustard, flour, sauce. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Bean	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Leaf	not in our table	0

2. Boiled Potatoes.