Why it works: Potato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Fried Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Cut cold potatoes into slices about ¼ inch thick.
Melt 2 to 3 tablespoons of drippings in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add the potato slices to the pan and season with salt and pepper.
Cook until the potatoes are brown, then turn and brown the other side.
If desired, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cold chopped ham over the potatoes 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.
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 + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + hamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,058 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Potato + hamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together127 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the dish; their starch browns and crisps in hot fat.
- Drippings
- Provide the frying fat that conducts heat and gives the potatoes browning and flavor.
The step that matters
Cook until the potatoes are brown, then turn and brown the other side.. Browning depends on enough heat and fat contact. Turning too early, before a golden crust forms, causes the slices to stick and steam instead of crisping.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, ham):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cabbagefits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, ham. 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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