Name: Bacon Potato Salad - Family Legacy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 3 pounds russet potatoes; 1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1 large onion, diced; 3 stalks celery, sliced; 6 hard-boiled eggs, quartered and sliced; 2 cups mayonnaise; 1/4 cup milk; 3 tablespoons sour cream (optional); 1/4 cup white vinegar; 1 teaspoon celery salt; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

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.

Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,047 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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 celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, onion, egg, milk, cream, vinegar, pepper):

Garlicfits better
Dillfits about as well
Parsleyfits about as well
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, onion, egg, milk, cream, vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Bacon Potato Salad - Family Legacy