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
In a bowl, mix the cold mashed potatoes, 2 beaten eggs, melted butter, salt, and pepper until smooth.
Shape the mixture into long rolls or round balls.
Coat and fry
Roll each piece in the beaten egg and then in cracker crumbs.
Fry in hot lard or dripping until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels and serve hot.
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).
-
Egg + buttertop 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
- Cold mashed potato
- Forms the bulk of the croquette and gives a soft, tender interior.
- Eggs
- Bind the potato mixture so the croquettes hold their shape when fried.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richer flavor and a softer, more tender texture.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned outer crust when fried.
The step that matters
Coat and fry. The coating must be fully set and the fat hot enough so the crust browns and seals before the soft filling leaks out or absorbs excess grease.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, 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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