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 Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the potatoes
Boil the potatoes until tender.
Mash the potatoes through a colander.
Make the soup
In a pot, heat the milk and water until hot.
Stir in the mashed potatoes and bring to a boil.
Season with butter, pepper, salt, and parsley.
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.
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide the starchy body that thickens the soup as they break down when mashed.
- Milk
- Adds richness and creaminess, softening the soup's texture and flavor.
The step that matters
Bringing the soup to a boil after adding the mashed potatoes. Once the mashed potatoes are stirred into the hot liquid, they can settle and scorch on the bottom of the pot, and milk can scorch or boil over. Stirring constantly while heating keeps the soup smooth and evenly thickened.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, milk, butter, pepper):
- Parsleythe original
- Thymefits about as well
- Cinnamonfits less well
- Nutmegfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, milk, butter, pepper. 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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