Why it works: Potato and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,611 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Potato Paste
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the potato
Bake the potatoes in their skins until you have 1 lb. of potato.
Mash the potatoes smoothly or pass them through a sieve.
Make the dough
Rub the lard and dripping into the flour.
Add the mashed potato, baking powder, and salt.
Stir in the egg and enough warm milk to form a smooth paste.
Roll out the mixture to about 1 inch thick and cut into rounds or squares.
Bake and serve
Place the pieces in a greased tin and bake at 350°F (175°C), turning 2 or 3 times for even browning.
Split, butter liberally, and serve immediately.
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 + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Dry, floury potatoes
- Provide starch and body, giving the paste a light, crumbly texture.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the paste together as it bakes.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderises the dough and keeps the crumb short.
- Dripping
- Adds fat and savoury flavour, helping the surface brown in the oven.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds richness to hold the pieces together.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it heats, helping the pieces rise and lighten.
The step that matters
Turning the pieces during baking. Turning them two or three times exposes every side to the hot tin, so they brown evenly instead of scorching on one side or staying pale.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, milk):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, milk. 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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