Name: Scalloped Potatoes II
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked potatoes, diced; 1 cup medium white sauce; ½ tablespoon finely chopped parsley; ⅓ cup buttered crumbs; Optional: ½ to 1 cup grated cheese

Why it works: Potato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Scalloped Potatoes II

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

2 cups cooked potatoes, diced
1 cup medium white sauce
½ tablespoon finely chopped parsley
⅓ cup buttered crumbs
Optional: ½ to 1 cup grated cheese

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Add the diced potatoes and parsley to the white sauce.
Transfer the mixture into a buttered baking dish.
Cover with buttered crumbs and brown in a 400°F (200°C) oven.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,855 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Potato + cheesetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together959 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Sauce + cheesetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,987 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce + parsleytop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,693 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Parsley + cheesetop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,507 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cooked potatoes: Provides the bulk and body of the dish.
White sauce: Adds moisture and a creamy coating that binds the potatoes together.
Buttered crumbs: Browns in the oven and forms a crisp topping.