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 Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Fry the potatoes and sliced onion in butter or drippings until slightly colored.
Add them to 2 to 3 pints of hot water along with the chopped parsley.
Boil until the potatoes are soft.
Pass the mixture through a colander to puree.
Return the puree to the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Finish with egg
Remove from heat, then stir in salt, pepper, and beaten eggs without letting the soup boil.
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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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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Onion + parsleytop 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
- Break down when boiled and puree to give the soup its body and thickness.
- Eggs
- Set when gently heated, enriching the soup and giving it a creamy texture.
- Butter or drippings
- Add fat and flavor, and help the potatoes and onion take on light color when fried.
- Onion
- Adds savory sweetness and depth of flavor after frying.
The step that matters
Stir in the eggs off the heat. Egg proteins set and can curdle or turn grainy if the soup boils, so the eggs should be stirred in after removing it from heat and not allowed to boil.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, parsley, pepper, egg):
- Chivefits better
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, parsley, pepper, egg. 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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