Why it works: Potato and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,798 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Codfish Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the base
In a stewpan, cover the potatoes and codfish with boiling water and cook until the potatoes are done.
Pour off the water and let the mixture sit on the back of the stove for five minutes to dry and steam.
Mash and beat the mixture until fine and light.
Add the butter, egg, pepper, and salt, then beat until light and fluffy.
Shape and fry
Shape the mixture into balls using a tablespoon without smoothing them too much.
Heat a kettle of boiling fat and drop in the balls, frying four or five at a time for about one minute.
Use a wire basket for easier frying, then drain on kitchen paper.
Serve
Serve with gherkins or sliced green tomato pickles.
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 + tomatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salt codfish
- Provides the savoury, salty flavour that defines the balls.
- Potatoes
- Bind the mixture and give it a light, soft interior texture when mashed.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, keeping the mash soft and flavourful.
- Egg
- Helps bind the mixture so the balls hold their shape.
The step that matters
Drying the mixture before mashing. Letting the drained potato and codfish sit on the warm stove evaporates surface water. Less moisture keeps the mash firm enough to shape and helps the balls hold together in hot fat.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, egg, pepper):
- Chivefits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, 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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