Why it works: Potato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the potatoes
Peel the potatoes and soak them in cold water for 30 minutes.
Steam the potatoes over boiling water until tender.
Mash the potatoes in an earthen basin or bright tin pan.
Season and mix
Season the mashed potatoes with coarse sea salt.
Add a generous piece of butter to the mashed potatoes.
Mix in 1 cup of rich milk until well combined.
Bake and fry
Transfer the mixture to a deep dish and smooth the top.
Place a little butter on the top of the mashed potatoes.
Bake the mashed potatoes in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden brown.
Score the top with steel bars for a golden finish.
Mold the mashed potatoes into shape.
Immerse the molded potatoes in hot lard.
Fry the potatoes until golden brown.
Slide the fried potatoes onto a platter.
Garnish with curled parsley leaves.
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.
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 + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the dish, providing starch that softens into a smooth, fluffy mash.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, improving mouthfeel and flavor in the mash and the top crust.
- Rich milk
- Adds moisture and creaminess, loosening the mash to a smooth, spreadable texture.
- Hot lard
- Fries the molded potatoes, producing a golden, crisp surface through browning.
The step that matters
Immerse the molded potatoes in hot lard. If the lard is not hot enough, the potatoes absorb grease and turn soggy instead of forming a crisp golden crust. Hot fat sears the surface quickly, sealing in moisture.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, milk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Thymefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, milk. 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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