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Potato Salad

A chilled salad of sliced boiled potatoes mixed with tarragon, salad oil, vinegar, parsley, pepper, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Isabella Beeton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Tarragon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,563 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Potato Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and dress

  1. Cut the potatoes into slices about ½ inch in thickness.

  2. Put the slices into a salad bowl with oil and vinegar in the above proportion.

  3. Season with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley.

  4. Stir the salad well so all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

Rest and serve

  1. Let the salad rest for 2–3 hours before serving.

  2. Optional: Add anchovies, olives, pickles, or slices of cold beef, fowl, or turkey.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

173Calories
5 gProtein
0 gFat
39 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Tarragon1 tsp dried (0.5g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 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.

By Isabella Beeton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. Tarragon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

  3. Parsley + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,855 recipes

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

  4. Tarragon + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,399 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,547 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Provide the bulk and firm body of the salad, holding their shape when sliced.
Salad oil
Adds fat and a smooth coating that carries flavour and keeps the slices moist.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the oil.
Parsley
Adds fresh, herbal aroma to the dressing.

The step that matters

Let the salad rest for 2–3 hours. Resting gives the potato slices time to absorb the oil and vinegar gradually, so the dressing flavours penetrate rather than sitting on the surface. Serving too soon leaves the salad tasting coated but not seasoned through.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tarragon, parsley, vinegar, pepper):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tarragon, parsley, vinegar, 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.

More potato salad recipes

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