Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Potato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice the boiled potatoes into ¼ to ½ inch thick slices.
Place the slices in a salad bowl.
Dress and chill
Add vinegar, salad oil, minced parsley, pepper, and coarse sea salt, then stir well to thoroughly mix all ingredients.
If desired, add anchovies, olives, pickles, or cold meats.
For a different flavor, prepare a regular salad dressing and pour it over the potatoes with minced onion.
Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
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.
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Parsley + olivetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,649 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,458 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the salad and absorb the dressing as the main body of the dish.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and cuts the richness of the oil.
- Salad oil
- Carries flavor and gives the potatoes a smooth, moist coating.
The step that matters
Stir well to thoroughly mix all ingredients. Potato slices are fragile and can break apart, so mix gently but thoroughly. Even distribution of the vinegar and oil ensures every piece is seasoned and moistened, since dressing that pools in one spot leaves other slices bland and dry.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, vinegar, parsley, pepper, olive, beef):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, vinegar, parsley, pepper, olive, beef. 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.
More potato salad recipes
You might also like
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Salad Dressing491 recipes
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.