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Ham Croquettes

Fried ham and mashed potato balls coated in breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Ham Croquettes

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Ham Croquettes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a bowl, combine chopped ham, mashed potatoes, bread crumbs, butter, and egg, then mix until well combined and form the mixture into balls.

  2. Roll each ball in additional bread crumbs.

Fry

  1. Heat lard in a frying pan and fry the croquettes until golden brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  3. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Potato + breadtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together434 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Mashed potatoes
Provide the bulk and soft interior that holds the croquette together.
Egg
Binds the mixture so the balls keep their shape while frying.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, golden outer coating when fried.
Ham
Adds savory flavor and meaty texture to the filling.
Butter
Adds richness and flavor to the filling.

The step that matters

Shaping and coating the balls. The mixture must be firm enough to hold its shape; if it is too soft it may break apart in the hot lard. Coating each ball fully in bread crumbs gives an even, crisp crust during frying.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, bread, butter, egg):

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Shallotfits about as well
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, bread, butter, egg. 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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