Why it works: Potato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
Mix mashed potatoes with butter and beaten egg whites.
Season with salt and pepper, and mix well.
Shape and coat
Shape the mixture into cone shapes using your hands.
Dip each croquette in egg yolks, then coat with crushed crackers.
Fry
Fry in hot lard until golden brown.
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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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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
- Form the main body of the croquette and give it a soft, moist interior.
- Egg whites
- Bind the potato mixture so the shaped croquettes hold together.
- Egg yolks
- Act as a wash that helps the cracker coating stick to the surface.
- Crushed crackers
- Form a crisp outer crust that browns when fried.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat for a softer, more flavorful interior.
The step that matters
Fry in hot lard until golden brown. If the lard is not hot enough, the coating absorbs excess oil and turns greasy before it crisps. Hot fat sets the crust quickly and keeps the interior from becoming oily.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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