Why it works: Potato and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 30% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Home-made Yeast
Ingredients
Directions
Make the starter
Combine the yeast, lukewarm potato water, and sugar in a small preserving jar.
Cover and let it stand in a warm place (about 90°F) for three hours to ferment.
Keep and feed the starter
If using yeast, replace the amount taken out with potato water and 1 tablespoon of sugar three hours before using.
If not used within a week, pour off half and replace with potato water and sugar.
Stir well before taking any out.
Use ½ cup less water when making bread with this yeast.
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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Potato + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yeast
- Provides the live microorganisms that ferment the sugar and leaven the starter.
- Potato water
- Supplies moisture and nutrients that help the yeast stay active during fermentation.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast, giving it fuel to ferment and produce gas.
The step that matters
Keep the starter warm while it ferments. Yeast works fastest in a warm place; if it is too cold, fermentation slows and the starter may not rise, while too much heat can kill the yeast.
“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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