Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Sweet Potato Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the sweet potatoes until tender, then skin and mash them.
Add butter, onion juice, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley to the mashed potatoes.
Mix well until combined.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sweet potato + parsleytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together180 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sweet potato + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together960 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 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
Swap the sweet potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion, pepper, parsley):
- Carrotfits better
- Potatofits better
- Chivefits better
- Sweet potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion, pepper, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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