Why it works: Tarragon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,563 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the cold boiled potatoes into slices between ¼ inch and ½ inch thick.
Place the potato slices in a salad bowl.
Dress and rest
Add the vinegar, salad oil, minced parsley, pepper, and salt, then stir well to thoroughly mix all the ingredients.
Make the salad 2 to 3 hours 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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Tarragon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,563 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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 + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Tarragon + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,399 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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
- Form the bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing as they sit.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the oil.
- Salad oil
- Carries flavor and coats the potato slices, adding richness and moisture.
The step that matters
Stir well to thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Thorough mixing spreads the vinegar and oil evenly over every slice, so the seasoning is consistent rather than pooled in spots or missing from some potatoes.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tarragon, parsley, pepper):
- Shallotfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Lettucefits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tarragon, parsley, pepper. 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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