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Codfish-balls

Codfish balls made by boiling codfish and potatoes, mixing, forming into balls, and frying in pork fat.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Codfish-balls

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Boil the codfish until cooked, then flake it.

  2. Boil the potatoes until tender, then mash them.

  3. Combine the flaked codfish and mashed potatoes in a bowl.

  4. Form the mixture into balls.

Fry and serve

  1. Heat pork fat in a pan over medium heat.

  2. Fry the codfish balls until golden brown on all sides.

  3. Drain on paper towels before serving.

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 + porktop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

What each ingredient does

Codfish
Provides the main savory flavor and protein structure of the balls.
Potatoes
Binds the mixture and adds moisture and a soft, tender texture.
Pork fat
Conducts heat for frying and adds richness and browning to the surface.

The step that matters

Fry until golden brown on all sides. Frying in fat at medium heat browns the surface through the Maillard reaction, creating flavor and a crisp crust. Turning the balls so every side contacts the fat keeps them evenly colored and prevents a pale, soggy patch or a burnt side.

“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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