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Potato Mayonnaise

A creamy spread made from mashed potato, mustard, salt, sugar, vinegar, and olive oil.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fannie Merritt Farmer · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,458 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓

Potato Mayonnaise

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Remove and mash the inside of the potato.

  2. Add the mustard, salt, and powdered sugar.

  3. Add one tablespoon of the vinegar, and rub the mixture through a fine sieve.

  4. Add the oil slowly, along with the remaining vinegar.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

335Calories
4 gProtein
14 gFat
50 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
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 Fannie Merritt Farmer. 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. Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,458 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  2. Potato + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,340 recipes

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

  3. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,950 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Potato
Its starch and fiber thicken the mixture and give it a smooth, body-rich texture.
Olive oil
Forms the fat base, emulsified into droplets that make the sauce rich and creamy.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and helps keep the emulsion stable.
Mustard
Its emulsifying compounds help hold the oil and liquids together in a smooth sauce.

The step that matters

Add the oil slowly. Oil must be added gradually so it breaks into fine droplets that stay suspended. Pouring it in too fast can cause the emulsion to split, leaving the sauce oily and thin.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, sugar, vinegar, olive):

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Lettucefits better
  3. Cucumberfits better
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, sugar, vinegar, olive. 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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