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
Make the dressing
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Heat the mixture until the eggs are cooked.
Remove from heat and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Finish the salad
Once cooled, add cream until the dressing reaches your desired consistency.
Pour the dressing over the sliced potatoes and mix gently.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 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
- Egg yolks
- Cooked yolks thicken the dressing and help bind it smoothly.
- Mustard
- Its natural compounds help emulsify the dressing and add sharp flavour.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the richness.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and creaminess, adjusting the dressing to the desired consistency.
The step that matters
Heating the egg yolk mixture. Egg proteins set at moderate heat and scramble if overheated. Heat gently and stir constantly so the dressing thickens smoothly instead of curdling.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, egg, mustard, vinegar, pepper, sugar, cream):
- Horseradishfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, egg, mustard, vinegar, pepper, sugar, 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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