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 ↓
Massey’s Mayonaise Potato Soufflé
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the cold potatoes and cooked beetroots into small pieces, but not too fine.
Marinate the chopped potatoes and beetroots in oil, vinegar, pepper, salt, and chopped parsley for 2 hours.
Layer the marinated mixture in a soufflé dish, alternating layers as desired.
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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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beetroot + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together745 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Potato + beetroottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together330 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Potato + peppertop 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
Swap the beetroot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, vinegar, pepper, parsley):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Beetrootthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, vinegar, pepper, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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