Why it works: Potato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,047 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Potatoe Soup
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, combine grated potatoes and water.
Add meat trimmings, rice, sweet herbs, and celery.
Stew the mixture until the liquid is considerably reduced.
Strain the soup through a sieve.
If the soup is too thin, add a little thickening.
Season with white pepper and coarse sea salt to taste.
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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Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,047 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together851 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Rice + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,169 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Meat + ricetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Potato + meattop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together786 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Break down during stewing to give the soup body and a thick, smooth texture.
- Rice
- Releases starch as it cooks, helping to thicken the soup.
- Meat trimmings
- Add savory, meaty flavor to the stock as they simmer.
- Celery
- Adds a fresh, aromatic vegetable flavor to the broth.
The step that matters
Stew until the liquid is considerably reduced. Reducing the liquid concentrates the flavor and lets the starches from the potatoes and rice thicken the soup. Stopping too early leaves it thin and watery, which is why the record later calls for thickening if it is too thin.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, meat, rice, celery):
- Turmericfits better
- Thymefits better
- Parsleyfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, meat, rice, celery. 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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