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 ↓
Codfish Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cod
Soak the codfish overnight.
In the morning, scald the fish, remove bones, and chop finely.
Mix and fry
Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy.
Mix the chopped codfish with the mashed potatoes and beaten egg whites.
Drop small tablespoons of the mixture into boiling lard and fry until golden.
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.
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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Potato + eggtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Mashed potatoes
- Bind the fish and form the bulk of each ball, giving a soft, moist interior.
- Codfish
- Provides the salty, savory flavor that defines the fritter.
- Egg whites
- Beaten to a foam, they lighten the mixture and help the balls puff while frying.
The step that matters
Frying in boiling lard. The lard must be hot enough to set the outside quickly; if it is too cool, the balls absorb grease, turn heavy and brown unevenly. Frying in small spoonfuls keeps the oil temperature steady.
“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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