Why it works: Butter and bread 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 ↓
Codfish Balls
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
In a bowl, combine mashed potatoes, codfish, butter, milk, egg, bread crumbs, and pepper.
Form the mixture into round oval balls.
Roll each ball in beaten egg, then in fine bread crumbs.
Fry and serve
Heat lard in a frying basket until hot.
Fry the balls until golden brown.
Remove from lard and let drain briefly on a napkin.
If not serving immediately, keep warm in a 300°F (150°C) oven on brown paper.
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 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
- Mashed potatoes
- Provides bulk and a soft, tender interior that holds the balls together.
- Codfish
- Supplies the main flavor and savory body of the balls.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and forms a coating that helps the crumbs stick.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden outer crust when fried.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat for a tender texture and flavor.
- Milk
- Moistens the mixture so it stays soft and easy to shape.
The step that matters
Fry the balls until golden brown. Frying in hot lard sets the crumb coating quickly, browning it and sealing in moisture. If the lard is not hot enough, the balls absorb grease and turn heavy and oily.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, egg, bread, pepper):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Tomatofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, egg, bread, pepper. 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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