Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the potatoes
Cut the potatoes into small pieces.
Finely chop the fresh onion or cucumber, if using, and mix with the potatoes.
Make the dressing
In a saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, eggs, dry mustard, pepper, and salt.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
If the dressing is too thick, add a little cream once cooled.
Combine and rest
Pour the dressing over the potatoes and let sit for 1-2 hours before serving.
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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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the dressing as they cook, giving it a creamy body.
- Vinegar
- Adds the sharp acidity that defines the dressing and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity of the vinegar for a sweet-sour flavour.
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing's flavour as it rests.
The step that matters
Cook the dressing over low heat, stirring constantly. Egg proteins set at a moderate temperature and can scramble if overheated. Constant stirring over low heat keeps the eggs smooth and lets the dressing thicken evenly.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, vinegar, sugar, egg, mustard, pepper, cream):
- Horseradishfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, vinegar, sugar, egg, mustard, pepper, cream. 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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