Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,023 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Morue a LA Bonne Femme
serves 6Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and peel the potatoes and onions.
Cut the salt cod into pieces measuring 2x3 inches.
Trim the pieces of salt fish and remove all bones.
Cook
Layer the potatoes at the bottom of a stewpan, followed by the onions, and then the salt cod on top.
Add enough cold water to cover the ingredients and simmer until the fish is cooked.
Remove the fish and let the onions finish cooking.
Make the sauce and serve
In another stewpan, dissolve the butter and flour with a little milk and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes, onions, and fish in order, and simmer for another 10 minutes 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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 dish and soak up the sauce, giving body to each serving.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavour, and with the flour forms the base of the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth sauce that clings to the potatoes and fish.
- Onions
- Soften during cooking and add sweetness and aroma to the dish.
- Salt cod
- Provides the main protein and a savoury, salty flavour that the sauce balances.
The step that matters
Simmering the sauce base. Cooking butter and flour together for a few minutes cooks out raw starch taste and lets the flour thicken the milk evenly. Too little cooking leaves a pasty, floury sauce, and too much heat can scorch the milk and make it stick.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, flour, milk):
- Chivebetter flavor fit
- Leekbetter flavor fit
- Asparagusbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, flour, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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