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Potato Kale

A mash of boiled potatoes and cabbage, seasoned with butter, cream, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Potato Kale

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the vegetables

  1. Boil the cabbage in salted water until nearly done.

  2. Peel the potatoes.

  3. Add the peeled potatoes to the boiling cabbage.

  4. Remove the potatoes from the cabbage.

  5. Drain the cabbage.

Mash and serve

  1. In a saucepan, combine the potatoes and cabbage.

  2. Mash them finely.

  3. Add the butter and cream.

  4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  5. Heat the mixture over the fire, stirring until hot.

  6. Serve immediately, especially good with cold meat.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Potato + cabbagetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together275 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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
Their starch gives the mash its body and soft, fluffy texture when mashed.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a mild, slightly sweet flavor that balances the potatoes.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, loosening the mash into a creamy texture.

The step that matters

Mash the potatoes finely. Overworking cooked potato releases excess starch, which turns the mash gluey and heavy. Mash until smooth, then stop, and stir the butter and cream in gently.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, cream, pepper):

  1. Onionfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, cream, 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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