Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the potatoes
Boil the potatoes with the skins on until tender.
Peel, cool, and slice the potatoes.
Make the dressing
Chop the egg whites finely.
Rub the yolks through a fine sieve into a bowl.
Chop the onion finely.
Add the chopped onion to the chopped egg whites.
Gradually mix the salad oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper into the yolks.
Assemble and season
Place the sliced potatoes in a salad bowl and mix in the egg whites and onions.
Pour the dressing over the potatoes and mix thoroughly.
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
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 + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 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
- Form the bulk of the salad and hold the dressing as their starch absorbs flavour.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Yolks form a creamy, emulsified base for the dressing; whites add body and texture.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and coating the potatoes.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil and yolks.
- Onion
- Adds sharp aroma and bite that cuts through the richness of the eggs and oil.
The step that matters
Gradually mix the oil into the yolks. Adding oil slowly to the mashed yolks lets them emulsify into a smooth, stable dressing. Adding it all at once can leave the dressing greasy and separated.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, egg, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, egg, 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.
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