Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Potato Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make and bake
Mix the mashed potatoes with butter, cream, loaf sugar, beaten eggs, candied peel, and nutmeg or cinnamon until well combined.
Line patty pans or saucers with pastry and fill them halfway with the mixture.
Sprinkle fine sugar on top and bake for 30 minutes.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,052 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mashed potatoes
- Provides the bulk and soft, moist body of the cheesecake filling.
- Eggs
- Bind the filling and help it set as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a tender texture.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the filling.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the filling and promotes browning on the surface.
- Candied peel
- Adds sweet, aromatic citrus flavour and chewy bits throughout.
The step that matters
Fill the pastry only halfway. Filling the pastry lining only halfway leaves room for the filling to rise and set as it bakes without overflowing or becoming soggy at the edges.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, cream, sugar, egg, nutmeg):
- Leekfits about as well
- Sweet potatofits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cream, sugar, egg, nutmeg. 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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