Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
In a bowl, mix salt, pepper, parsley, grated onion, salad oil or butter, and vinegar to create the dressing.
Assemble and rest
Slice the cold boiled potatoes, ensuring the slices are not too thin.
Pour the dressing over the potato slices and let them stand for half an hour 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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Parsley + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Pepper + potatotop 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
- Cold boiled potatoes
- Form the bulk of the salad, holding their shape in slices while absorbing the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the richness of the oil and brightens the potatoes.
- Salad oil or melted butter
- Adds fat and moisture, carrying flavour through the dressing and coating the potato slices.
- Grated onion
- Contributes pungent aroma and savoury flavour to the dressing.
The step that matters
Slice the potatoes not too thin. Thin slices break apart and turn mushy when tossed with dressing, while slices that are too thick absorb dressing unevenly. Cold potatoes hold their shape better when sliced, so keeping the slices sturdy helps the salad stay intact and well seasoned.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, parsley, butter, vinegar, potato):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, parsley, butter, vinegar, potato. 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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