Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 ↓
Hashed Brown Potatoes with Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the cold boiled potatoes finely and season with salt, pepper, and onion juice.
Heat a lightly greased frying pan over medium heat and add the potatoes.
Cook the potatoes slowly without stirring until browned on the bottom.
Meanwhile, soften the cottage cheese with cream or milk until spreadable.
Mix in any desired seasonings like parsley, pimientos, ham, or bacon.
Spread the cheese mixture over the browned potatoes and let it warm.
Fold the potatoes over the cheese like an omelet, then turn onto a hot platter.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, pepper, onion, cottage cheese, cream, ham, sauce):
- Garlicfits better
- Celeryfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Thymefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, pepper, onion, cottage cheese, cream, ham, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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