Name: Potato Puffs
Ingredients: cold mashed potatoes; 1 egg; a slight grating of nutmeg

Why it works: Potato and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,052 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Potato Puffs

Oven, in the book's wordsA good hot oven

Ingredients

cold mashed potatoes
1 egg
a slight grating of nutmeg

Directions

The book says “a good hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make and shape

In a bowl, combine cold mashed potatoes with a well-beaten egg and nutmeg.
Form the mixture into balls.

Bake and serve

Brush the balls with egg.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden brown.
Serve at supper or luncheon.

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.

Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,052 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together24,744 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Potato + eggtop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,978 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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

Cold mashed potatoes: Provides the starchy base that holds the puffs together and gives a soft interior.
Egg: Binds the mixture and, brushed on top, promotes golden browning in the oven.