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 until a fork passes through them easily; let them cool thoroughly or stand overnight.
Cut the cooled potatoes into small dice.
If using, chop the onion very fine and add it to the potatoes.
Make the dressing
In a bowl, mix the mustard, salt, white pepper, and beaten eggs.
Slowly add the salad oil and vinegar, beating until very stiff.
Combine and finish
Pour the dressing over the potatoes and mix well.
For added flavor, mix in small pieces of cold veal or beef if desired.
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.
-
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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, holding their shape when cooled and diced.
- Raw eggs
- Emulsify the oil and vinegar, giving the dressing body and a thick, stiff texture.
- Salad oil
- Provides fat and richness, emulsified with the eggs into the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil.
- Ground mustard
- Contributes sharp flavor and helps stabilise the emulsion.
The step that matters
Beating the oil and vinegar into the eggs. Oil must be added slowly while beating so it disperses into tiny droplets; added too fast, the emulsion breaks and the dressing turns greasy and thin rather than stiff.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, mustard, white pepper, egg, cream, vinegar, veal):
- Horseradishfits better
- Chivefits better
- Shallotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, mustard, white pepper, egg, cream, vinegar, veal. 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.
More potato salad recipes
You might also like
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Potato Rolls78 recipes
Potato Chips53 recipes
Sweet Potato Croquettes53 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.