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5. Codfish Balls or Cakes.

Codfish balls or cakes are made from codfish, potatoes, eggs, and salt, then boiled, shaped, dredged in flour, and fried or baked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Helen Kinne and Anna M. Cooley · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 29% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,978 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

5. Codfish Balls or Cakes.

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the fish and potatoes

  1. Put the fish and potatoes in a stewpan, cover with cold water, bring to boiling, cook until the potato is tender (about 20 minutes).

  2. Drain off the water thoroughly and shake the stewpan over the fire to dry the contents.

Form the cakes

  1. Mash and heat the mixture in the stewpan, add the egg.

  2. Taste to see if more salt is needed.

  3. Shape into round flat cakes about an inch thick, dredge with flour and sauté.

  4. Brown the cakes on a greased pan in the oven or under the gas flame, turning if necessary.

  5. Shape into balls, place in a wire frying basket, lower the basket into hot fat until the balls brown, lift the basket, drain, and drain the balls on paper. Keep hot until serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

239Calories
11 gProtein
6 gFat
38 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
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 Helen Kinne and Anna M. Cooley. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

  1. Potato + eggtop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,978 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Soften when boiled and bind the mashed mixture into a cohesive body.
Egg
Binds the mashed mixture so the cakes hold their shape.
Flour (in the method)
Dredging coats the cakes, helping them brown and form a crust when sautéed.

The step that matters

Drain the mixture thoroughly and dry it over the fire. Excess water left in the mashed potato and fish makes the mixture soggy and loose, so the cakes will not hold their shape or brown well in the pan. Drying over heat evaporates surface moisture, giving a firmer mixture that binds and crisps properly.

“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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