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Fish Balls

Fish balls made from mashed potatoes, codfish, eggs, pepper, milk, and cracker meal, then fried.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Fish Balls

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Mix the mashed potatoes and shredded codfish together.

  2. Add the eggs and pepper, beating until light and creamy.

  3. Shape the mixture into balls.

Coat and fry

  1. Roll the balls in beaten egg mixed with milk, then in cracker meal.

  2. Drop the balls into boiling fat and fry until light brown.

  3. Drain on brown paper.

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.

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. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  3. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Pepper + milktop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Potato + eggtop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,978 recipes

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

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.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set into a firm, cohesive ball when cooked.
Shredded codfish
Supplies the main fish flavour and savoury character of the balls.
Cracker meal
Forms a crisp, golden browned crust during frying.

The step that matters

Frying in boiling fat. The fat must be hot enough that the outside sets and browns quickly. If it is too cool, the coating absorbs oil, becomes greasy, and the balls may fall apart before the centre heats through.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, milk):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatothe original
  3. Asparagusfits about as well
  4. Spinachfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, 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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