Why it works: Mustard and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,356 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Boil the potatoes until tender, then let them cool and slice them very thin.
Make the dressing
In a bowl, beat the eggs, then gradually add the oil, followed by the vinegar, salt, and mustard, mixing well.
Place the mixture in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until thickened, but do not boil.
Assemble and serve
Mix the sliced potatoes with the chopped onion and parsley, then cover with the dressing.
Garnish with crisp lettuce before serving.
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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Mustard + lettucetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,356 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Parsley + lettucetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,483 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 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 bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing's flavour as they cool.
- Eggs
- Emulsify the oil and vinegar, and thicken into a creamy dressing when gently heated.
- Oil
- Provides fat and a smooth, rich texture to the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil and eggs.
- French mustard
- Helps stabilise the emulsion and adds sharp, tangy flavour.
- Onion
- Adds sharp aroma and savoury bite to the salad.
The step that matters
Heat the dressing gently and do not let it boil. Egg yolks thicken as they warm, but above about 70°C (160°F) they begin to scramble and curdle. Low, gentle heat with constant stirring keeps the dressing smooth and thickened.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, egg, vinegar, mustard, parsley, lettuce):
- Chivefits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, egg, vinegar, mustard, parsley, lettuce. 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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