Name: Potato Soup
Ingredients: 4 large mealy potatoes; 1 egg; 2 tablespoons butter; ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt; 1 teaspoon essence of celery; 1 pint water; 1 pint milk or cream

Why it works: Potato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,047 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Potato Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the soup base

Boil the potatoes until tender, then mash them finely.
Add the egg, butter, salt, and essence of celery to the mashed potatoes.
In a separate pot, boil the water and milk or cream.

Finish and serve

Pour the boiling water and milk over the potato mixture and stir well.
Strain the soup and serve immediately.

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.

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.

Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,047 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,611 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,456 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mealy potatoes: Their starch breaks down when cooked and mashed, giving the soup a thick, smooth body.
Egg: Adds richness and helps bind the soup so it feels creamier.
Butter: Adds fat, which gives a rounder, silkier mouthfeel and a rich flavour.
Milk or cream: Adds moisture and fat, softening the texture and making the soup milder and richer.