Name: Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 4 cups peeled and sliced potatoes; 2 cups diced ham; 1/2 onion, chopped; 2 cups milk; 1 cup frozen peas; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons butter; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/8 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon dried parsley; 1/4 pound Cheddar cheese, diced; 1 pinch paprika, or to taste

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).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Potato + peastop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,016 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,305 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,611 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

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

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, ham, onion, milk, flour, butter, pepper):

Beansfits better
Almondfits better
Chestnutfits better
Peasthe original

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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Ham	100g cooked	145
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham