Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the potatoes
Peel and slice the raw potatoes thinly, then soak them in very cold water overnight.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and shake them dry.
Assemble and bake
Layer the potatoes in a well-buttered baking dish, sprinkling each layer with salt, pepper, and small bits of butter.
Optionally, shake a little flour between the layers.
Optionally, stir 2 beaten egg yolks into the milk.
Pour enough sweet milk to cover the potatoes.
Cover the dish during the first half of baking.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 1 to 2 hours, or until done, ensuring the top browns.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they 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
- Raw potatoes
- Form the bulk of the dish, cooking through into tender layers as they bake.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the top brown as the dish bakes.
- Sweet milk
- Cooks around the potatoes to form a creamy, lightly set sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk so the sauce becomes creamier and holds together.
- Egg yolks
- Enriches the sauce and helps it set to a custard-like texture.
The step that matters
Covering the dish for the first half of baking. Covering traps steam so the potatoes cook through evenly and the milk does not reduce or scorch before the potatoes are tender. Uncovering later lets the top brown.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, milk, flour, egg):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, milk, flour, egg. 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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