Why it works: Butter and milk match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,222 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Potatoes a LA Creme
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Melt the butter in a chafing dish.
Stir in the flour, then gradually add the milk.
Stir until boiling.
Add potatoes and serve
Add pepper and salt, then add the sliced potatoes.
Cook for five minutes, then 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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Butter + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + milktop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + peppertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,303 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Butter + flourtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor to the sauce and helps carry the seasoning.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, creamy sauce that coats the potatoes.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the cream sauce.
- Potatoes
- Form the body of the dish and soak up the thickened sauce as they heat through.
The step that matters
Adding the milk gradually while stirring in the flour. Flour clumps when it meets liquid all at once. Adding the milk slowly and stirring keeps the mixture smooth, so the sauce thickens evenly as it comes to a boil.
“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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