Why it works: Potato and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,611 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Potato Paste
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the potato
Bake the potatoes in their skins until soft, then mash smoothly or pass through a sieve.
Make the dough
Rub the lard and dripping into the flour, then add the mashed potato, baking powder, and salt.
Stir in the egg and enough warm milk to form a smooth paste.
Roll out the mixture to about 1 inch thick, cut into rounds or squares, and place in a greased tin.
Bake and serve
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C), turning 3 or 4 times for even browning.
Split, butter liberally, and serve immediately.
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 + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Dry, floury potatoes
- Their starch gives the cake a light, tender, crumbly texture when mashed smooth.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Lard
- Rubbed into flour, it shortens the dough, keeping it tender and crumbly.
- Dripping
- Adds fat for richness and tenderness, and helps the surface brown during baking.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and adds structure and richness to the dough.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the cake rise and become light.
The step that matters
Turning the cake while baking. Turning the rounds 3 or 4 times during baking exposes every side to the oven heat, so the browning is even rather than pale on one side and overdone on another.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, milk):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, milk. 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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