Why it works: Almond and potato work together. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 337 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Potato Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter in a bowl until soft and creamy, making a slight crackling noise.
Stir in the egg yolks, sugar, and almonds; beat for 10 minutes.
Add the grated potatoes and breadcrumbs, then fold in the whipped egg whites.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 60 minutes.
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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Almond + potatotop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together337 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whipped whites lighten the batter and help it rise and set as it bakes.
- Butter
- Creaming with sugar traps air and adds richness and a tender crumb.
- Breadcrumbs
- Provide bulk and body so the soufflé holds together rather than turning watery.
- Grated potatoes
- Add moisture and a soft, starchy body to the batter.
- Castor sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilise the creamed butter.
The step that matters
Folding in the whipped egg whites. Fold gently so the air trapped in the whites is kept. Stirring or deflating them makes the soufflé dense instead of light when it bakes.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, sugar, almond):
- Sweet potatofits better
- Arrowrootfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, sugar, almond. 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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