Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Rose Havlatko
Ingredients
Directions
Make the puff balls
To each cup of mashed potato, add one beaten egg, two tablespoons milk, one tablespoon flour, one-quarter teaspoon baking powder, and a little salt. Mix well.
Drop by tablespoons into deep fat and fry until golden brown.
Make the potato strips
Take leftover mashed potatoes, add one beaten egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough.
Roll dough about one-half inch thick and cut into strips about two inches long.
Drop strips into boiling salted water and cook about ten minutes.
Drain and pour over one-quarter pound browned butter with bread or cracker crumbs.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Gives the mashed potato mixture enough body to hold its shape.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture together and adds structure as it sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during cooking so the balls rise and turn light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the mashed potato mixture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a nutty flavour when browned.
The step that matters
Drop by tablespoons into deep fat and fry until golden brown. The soft mixture needs hot fat so its outside sets and browns quickly. If the fat is not hot enough, the balls absorb oil, turn greasy, and may fall apart before they are cooked through.
“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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