Why it works: Potato and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,073 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Potatoes Au Gratin
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Steam the potatoes until done.
Cut them into slices 1/8 inch thick.
Arrange the potato slices in a heated dish, seasoning each layer with coarse sea salt.
Pour an equal amount of thin Bechamel sauce over the potatoes.
Bake in a very hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until brown.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Potato + saucetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,073 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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