Why it works: Wheat and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Potato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Boil the peeled potatoes until they are soft enough to mash.
Slice an equal quantity of light wheat bread.
Make the soup
Stir the bread into the mashed potatoes with melted butter or rich cream.
Boil the mixture in rich milk until it thickens to a mush-like consistency.
Add coarse sea salt to taste.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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 + wheattop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together235 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the main body of the soup as they mash and thicken into a starchy base.
- Light wheat bread
- Adds body and thickens the mixture as its starch absorbs liquid.
- Butter or rich cream
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture and mouthfeel.
- Rich milk
- Provides liquid that, with heat, thickens the mixture into a mush-like consistency.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture in rich milk until it thickens. Starch from the potatoes and bread swells and sets as it heats, so stopping too early leaves the soup thin, while overcooking can scorch the milk on the bottom of the pot.
“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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