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 ↓
Croquettes of Salsify and Celeriac
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the roots
Wash and scrape two roots of salsify and one large celeriac.
Cut them into pieces.
Cover the pieces with vinegar and water and let them stand one hour to prevent darkening.
Pour off the vinegar and water.
Nearly cover the pieces with boiling water and cook until very tender.
Make the mash
Mash the cooked pieces finely and smooth.
Season the mash with pepper, salt, and a few drops of onion juice.
Put the mash in a saucepan over the fire.
Add a tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of milk.
Just before removing from the fire, add a tablespoonful of cream and one egg.
Stir well.
Turn out into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Shape and fry
When cold, shape the mixture into croquettes.
Dip each croquette in egg and then in cracker crumbs.
Fry the croquettes in a basket in boiling oil.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Salsify | not in our table | 0 |
| Celeriac | 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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 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
- Salsify
- Provides the main vegetable body and mild, earthy flavour of the croquettes.
- Celeriac
- Supplies the bulk of the mash, giving a soft texture and a light celery-like flavour.
- Egg
- Binds the mash so the croquettes hold their shape when fried.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, softening the mash and improving its flavour.
- Milk
- Adds moisture, keeping the mash smooth and easy to shape.
The step that matters
Cooling the mash before shaping. The mash is soft and sticky while warm. Cooling it lets the starches and proteins firm up, so the croquettes keep their shape instead of collapsing in the hot oil.
“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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