Why it works: Potato and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,456 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Choose smooth, even-sized potatoes and wash them well with cold water using a brush or cloth.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Bake and serve
Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 20 to 35 minutes, depending on variety and ripeness.
They are done when they yield easily to pressure between your fingers.
Serve immediately without covering to prevent them from becoming heavy or watery.
Enjoy with a little butter and coarse sea salt.
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 + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide the starchy flesh that becomes fluffy when baked and steamed in their skins.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness that melts into the hot flesh and carries flavour.
The step that matters
Judging doneness by pressure. Potatoes vary in variety and ripeness, so the stated time is only a guide. Gently squeezing to check for easy yield confirms the starch has fully cooked and softened, avoiding firm, undercooked centres.
“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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