Why it works: Rice and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,379 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Meat Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Combine ground meat, cooked rice, beaten egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Form the mixture into small patties.
Coat and fry
Dip each patty in beaten eggs, then roll in cracker crumbs or cornmeal.
Fry the croquettes in hot fat until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels before serving.
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.
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.
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Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Meat + ricetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,777 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Meat + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,432 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Rice + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,350 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ground meat
- Provides the main filling and savory flavor of the croquettes.
- Cooked rice
- Bulks out the filling and adds moisture and body to the mixture.
- Egg
- Binds the filling so the patties hold their shape.
- Cracker crumbs or cornmeal
- Forms a crisp coating that browns in the hot fat.
The step that matters
Frying in hot fat. The fat must be hot enough to brown the coating quickly. If it is too cool, the crumbs absorb oil and turn greasy while the patty's interior heats slowly and may fall apart.
“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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