IllustrationWhy it works: Potato and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,019 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the vegetables
Wash, pare, and cut potatoes in halves.
Wash, pare, and cut turnips in one-quarter inch slices.
Parboil together ten minutes.
Drain.
Cook and strain
Add onion cut in slices, and three cups boiling water.
Cook until vegetables are soft.
Drain, reserving the water to add to vegetables after rubbing them through a sieve.
Finish the soup
Add milk, reheat, and bind with butter and flour cooked together.
Season with salt and pepper.
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.
The picture is an illustration, not a photo of this recipe · 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Potato + oniontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,019 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Milk + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Potato + milktop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
-
Turnip + oniontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together7,584 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Potato + peppertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,303 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 and gives the soup its body.
- Turnip
- Adds body and a mild, slightly sharp flavour once softened and sieved.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and richness, softening the soup's flavour and texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and, cooked with flour, helps bind the soup smoothly.
- Flour
- Thickens the soup when cooked with butter and stirred in as a roux.
The step that matters
Binding with butter and flour. Flour must be cooked with the butter before it goes into the hot milk, otherwise it stays raw-tasting and can form lumps instead of thickening smoothly.
Flavor stand-ins for the turnip
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, milk, onion, butter, flour, pepper):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Chivebetter flavor fit
- Turnipthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, milk, onion, butter, flour, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.