Why it works: Potato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Omelette Parmentier
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a bowl, beat the eggs and add a pinch of chopped parsley.
In a hot omelette pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Cook
Add the diced potato to the pan and sauté until hot.
Pour the beaten eggs over the sautéed potatoes.
Cook the omelette until set, then fold and serve immediately.
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 + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,765 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set to form the body of the omelette as they cook.
- Potato
- Adds bulk and a soft, tender texture inside the omelette.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps keep the omelette from sticking to the pan.
The step that matters
Cook the omelette until set, then fold and serve immediately.. Eggs turn firm as their proteins coagulate with heat. Removing the omelette once just set keeps it tender, while overcooking makes it dry and rubbery. Folding and serving right away keeps it soft.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, parsley):
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, parsley. 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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