Why it works: Tea and rice work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 197 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Rice and Cheese Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
Melt one tablespoonful of butter, then stir into it one tablespoonful of flour, one-third cup of milk, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt, and paprika.
Stir until smooth, then add one-fourth cup of grated cheese and one cup of cold boiled rice (boiled so as to leave the grains whole, but well done).
Shape and coat
When cold, form into croquettes.
Beat one egg, add a tablespoonful of water, and brush over the croquettes thoroughly with the egg.
Roll in sifted bread crumbs.
Fry
Fry in deep fat.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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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Tea + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together197 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold boiled rice
- Forms the bulk of the croquette, and its starch helps the mixture hold together when cooled.
- Grated cheese
- Adds flavour and richness, and helps bind the mixture as it cools.
- Egg
- Beaten egg coats the outside, helping the crumbs stick and encouraging browning when fried.
- Butter
- Fat that enriches the thickened base and carries flavour.
- Milk
- Liquid that, with melted butter and flour, forms a thick, smooth base for the mixture.
The step that matters
Forming the croquettes when cold. A warm mixture is soft and sticky and will slump or tear. Once cooled, the starch and cheese firm up, so the croquettes keep their shape through frying.
“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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