Why it works: Onion and potato 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 ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Let the boiled potatoes cool, then peel and slice them.
Slice the onions into small thin pieces or mince them finely.
Slice the hard-boiled eggs.
Assemble and serve
In a salad bowl, layer the potatoes and eggs alternately, sprinkling each layer with coarse sea salt and adding a little onion.
Pour salad dressing over the layers, finishing with a generous amount of dressing.
Prepare the salad 2 to 3 hours before serving.
Garnish with parsley 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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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,765 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Potato + eggtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,978 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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 dressing, giving it a soft, hearty texture.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add richness and a creamy texture that balances the starchy potatoes.
- Onions
- Add sharp, pungent flavour that cuts through the richness of the dressing.
- Salad dressing
- Supplies moisture and fat that bind the layers and carry the flavour throughout.
The step that matters
Dressing the layers while the potatoes are still cool. Starch in cooled boiled potatoes firms up, so the layers hold their shape and absorb dressing evenly rather than turning mushy. Letting the salad rest 2 to 3 hours lets the dressing soak in and the flavours meld.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, egg, parsley):
- Chivefits better
- Carrotfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, egg, 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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