Why it works: Pork and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Fried Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the drippings or butter in a pan over high heat, being careful not to burn it.
Slice the potatoes into ¼ inch thick slices.
Fry the potato slices uncovered until they are a rich brown.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving immediately.
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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Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 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 body of the dish; their starch browns and crisps in hot fat.
- Drippings or butter
- Conduct heat for frying and add rich flavor while helping the potatoes brown.
The step that matters
Frying the potato slices until rich brown. Browning depends on hot fat and dry surfaces. Fat that is too hot can burn before the potatoes cook through, while too little heat leaves them pale and soft. Leaving them uncovered lets moisture escape so the surfaces crisp.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatothe original
- Tomatofits less well
- Carrotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, 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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