Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Potato Salad, No. 2
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the boiled potatoes into neat pieces while hot.
Add the chopped parsley, onion, pepper, and salt.
Mix in the oil and warm stock carefully without breaking the potatoes.
Add the vinegar and mix gently.
Refrigerate and serve cold.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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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 + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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 absorb the dressing as they are coated while warm.
- Oil
- Adds fat and richness, coating the potato pieces and carrying flavour.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the salad and balances the richness of the oil.
- Warm stock
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour that the warm potatoes absorb.
The step that matters
Mix in the oil and warm stock carefully without breaking the potatoes. Hot, freshly cut potatoes are soft and absorb dressing best when warm. Rough stirring breaks them into mush and releases starch, making the salad pasty and uneven in texture.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, parsley, pepper, vinegar):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, parsley, pepper, vinegar. 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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