Why it works: Potato and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,855 recipes mention both. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare
Boil the small kidney potatoes until tender.
Slice the boiled potatoes.
Finish and serve
Warm the sliced potatoes with 1-2 tablespoons of white sauce, chopped parsley, and a little lemon juice.
Alternatively, slice hot boiled potatoes and toss them with Maitre d'Hotel butter.
Squeeze a little lemon juice over the tossed potatoes and serve.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Potato + parsleytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,036 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Potato + buttertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,445 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + lemontop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,229 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Parsley + buttertop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together28,543 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
- Small kidney potatoes
- Form the main body of the dish, holding their shape when boiled and sliced.
- White sauce
- Adds moisture and a creamy coating that keeps the sliced potatoes soft when warmed.
- Maitre d'hotel butter
- Carries the parsley and adds richness and fat that coats the potatoes.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the buttery, savoury flavour.
The step that matters
Warm the potatoes gently. Potatoes that are overheated or left too long in the sauce can break down and turn mushy, and butter or cream-based coatings can separate or turn greasy. Gentle heat keeps the slices intact and the coating smooth.
“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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