Why it works: Potato and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 30% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Potato Yeast
makes 2 quartsIngredients
Directions
Make the mash
Boil the hops in a little water, then strain and pour over the grated potatoes.
Add the salt and sugar, then enough water to make 2 quarts.
Heat on the stove until it comes to a boil.
Cool, ferment and store
Remove from heat and let it cool until room warm, then add the yeast.
Set in a warm place to rise.
Store in a clean vessel in a cool place.
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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Potato + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Potato + hopstop 39% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
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Sugar + hopstop 43% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yeast
- Ferments the sugar, producing carbon dioxide that makes the liquid rise and gives it fizz.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast, so fermentation starts and gives the bread its sweetness.
- Boiled potatoes
- Add starch and body to the mixture.
The step that matters
Let the mixture cool before adding the yeast. Yeast is a living organism that high heat kills. Adding it while the liquid is still hot can stop fermentation before the rise begins, so the mixture should be cooled to room warm first.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, hops):
- Mustardfits better
- Cucumberfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, hops. 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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