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Potato Balls

Potato balls are mashed potatoes shaped into balls, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational Church · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Potato Balls

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Potato Balls

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Take four large mealy cold potatoes and mash in a pan with two tablespoons of melted butter, a pinch of salt, a little pepper, one tablespoon of cream, and the beaten yolk of one egg.

  2. Rub all together for about five minutes or until very soft.

Shape and fry

  1. Shape into round balls.

  2. Dip them into fine sifted bread crumbs.

  3. Fry in boiling lard.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

320Calories
5 gProtein
17 gFat
39 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
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 Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational Church. 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. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

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

  3. Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Cream + potatotop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  5. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Provide the starchy base that mashes into a soft, shapeable mass.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, keeping the mixture soft and smooth.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness, making the mash easier to shape.

The step that matters

Rubbing the mash until very soft. Rubbing breaks down the cooked potato into a smooth, cohesive mass. If it is left lumpy or dry, the balls will crack or fall apart when shaped and fried.

“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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