Why it works: Potato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice the potatoes into a salad bowl that has been rubbed with onion.
Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the potatoes.
Dress and serve
Pour the salad dressing down the side of the bowl.
Mix the salad just 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.
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 + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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 salad and give it its body and soft, starchy texture.
- Salad dressing
- Adds moisture, fat and tang that coat the potatoes and carry the flavour.
The step that matters
Mix the salad just before serving. Floury potatoes break down and turn mushy when handled or stirred too much, and they soak up dressing over time. Mixing just before serving keeps the slices intact and the texture fresh.
“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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