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
Boil the small potatoes in their jackets until tender, then let them cool.
Slice the cooled potatoes and the minced onion.
Make the dressing
In a frying pan, melt the butter.
Add the vinegar, water, and sugar; bring to a boil.
Combine and serve
Pour the hot mixture over the sliced potatoes and onions, then mix thoroughly.
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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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Small potatoes
- Form the bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing as they are sliced and mixed.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the salad its tangy flavor.
- Onion
- Adds sharp, aromatic flavor that mellows during the warm dressing.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the dressing for a rounder flavor.
The step that matters
Pour the hot mixture over the sliced potatoes and onions. The dressing must be hot so the warm potatoes absorb the vinegar and seasoning evenly. Cold dressing would sit on the surface and leave the salad bland and unevenly flavored.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, vinegar, butter, pepper, sugar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, vinegar, butter, pepper, sugar. 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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