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 Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel the potatoes and onions.
Chop the potatoes, onions, and groats small.
Cook and season
Tie the mixture in a cloth and boil for 3 to 4 hours.
Season with pepper, coarse sea salt, and butter to taste.
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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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide the starchy bulk that cooks down into a soft, thick pudding body.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and aroma as they soften during the long boil.
- Groats
- Absorb moisture and add grainy texture and body to the pudding.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel to the finished pudding.
The step that matters
Boiling for the full 3 to 4 hours. Potato starch and groats only soften and set into a cohesive pudding after long, steady heat. Cutting the boil short leaves starch raw and the texture gritty and loose.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, pepper, butter):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Onionthe original
- Carrotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, pepper, butter. 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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