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Potato Croquettes

Small fried balls made from mashed potatoes, egg whites, and egg yolks, coated in flour or cracker crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Potato Croquettes

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

Prepare

  1. Combine cold mashed potatoes, salt, pepper, and melted butter in a bowl.

  2. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the potato mixture until well combined.

  3. Form the mixture into small, slightly flattened balls.

Coat and fry

  1. Dip each ball into the beaten egg yolks, then roll in flour or cracker crumbs.

  2. Heat lard in a frying pan and fry the croquettes until golden brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,355 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Mashed potatoes
Form the bulk of the croquette and provide a soft, moist interior.
Egg whites
Whipped to stiff peaks, they lighten the mixture and help it hold its shape.
Egg yolks
Their beaten coating helps the crumbs or flour adhere to each ball.
Melted butter
Adds richness and fat for flavour and a tender texture.
Flour or cracker crumbs
Form a dry outer layer that browns and crisps when fried.

The step that matters

Fry until golden brown. The crumb coating browns through frying in hot fat, creating a crisp crust. Fat that is too cool lets the croquettes absorb grease and turn soggy before the crust sets.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, flour, pepper):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Shallotfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, flour, 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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