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 Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
Boil beef or mutton scraps in water until the stock is extracted.
Strain the liquid into a pot.
Cook the soup
Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them into quarters.
Add the potatoes and chopped onions to the pot, season with pepper and coarse sea salt.
Boil for 1.5 hours in the strained liquid.
Press the mixture through a colander back into the pot.
Bring the soup to a boil for a short time.
Stir in ¼ cup of butter after straining.
Finish and serve
Add ½ cup of cream or milk 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.
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.
-
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 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
- Beef or mutton scraps
- Release flavour and body into the stock as they simmer in water.
- Potatoes
- Break down when pressed, thickening the soup and giving it a smooth texture.
- Onions
- Add savoury sweetness and aroma as they cook into the broth.
- Butter
- Adds fat, richness and a silky mouthfeel to the finished soup.
- Cream or milk
- Adds creaminess and mellows flavour when stirred in near serving.
The step that matters
Bring the soup to a boil for a short time. Cream or milk added later can curdle or separate if the soup boils hard or for long. Keep the heat gentle once dairy goes in, and add it just before serving as the record directs.
“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.
More potato soup recipes
You might also like
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Corned Beef87 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.