Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
German Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the potatoes in their jackets until done.
Let them cool slightly, then slice them.
Add sliced onions to taste, along with pepper, coarse sea salt, vinegar, and salad oil or roast beef drippings.
Ensure the potatoes are warm enough and use just enough vinegar to moisten them.
Chop winter lettuce and mix it with the onions for added flavor.
Garnish the dish with the chopped lettuce for an attractive presentation.
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 + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + lettucetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together322 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Onion + lettucetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,562 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + beeftop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, onion, pepper, vinegar, beef):
- Capsicumfits better
- Chivefits better
- Tomatofits better
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, onion, pepper, vinegar, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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