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Force Meat Balls

Meatballs made from finely chopped meat, onion, salt, pepper, parsley, egg, and breadcrumbs, served in soup.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Shutt, William E., Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Force Meat Balls

Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Force Meat Balls

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the meatballs

  1. Chop any kind of meat or poultry very finely.

  2. Season with salt, pepper, a slice of onion, and a little parsley chopped together.

  3. Bind together with an egg beaten well.

  4. Roll into little balls.

  5. Dip each ball in egg, then in breadcrumbs.

Cook and serve

  1. Fry until golden brown and add to the soup just before serving.

  2. If preferred, cook the meatballs in boiling water.

  3. Serve a white soup such as cream of asparagus or tomato bisque with whipped cream on top instead of bouillon, in cups.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

51Calories
2 gProtein
0 gFat
12 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Shutt, William E., Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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. See the original page.

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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Egg (in the method)
Binds the chopped meat so the balls hold their shape.
Breadcrumbs (in the method)
Form a crisp, golden coating when the meatballs are fried.
Meat or poultry (in the method)
Provides the main body and savoury flavour of the meatballs.

The step that matters

Frying until golden brown. Frying browns the breadcrumb coating through the Maillard reaction, adding flavour and a crisp texture. Stopping too early leaves the coating pale and soft, while overcooking can dry the meat.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, parsley. 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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