Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Potato Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the potato mixture
Mash the potatoes with butter, salt, and milk.
Beat in 2 eggs until light and fluffy.
Heat the mixture in a greased saucepan, stirring until it thickens.
Let the mixture cool, then shape it into croquettes.
Coat and fry
Roll each croquette in the beaten egg, then in cracker crumbs.
Fry in hot oil until golden brown.
Drain excess fat and serve.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the mixture and set into a soft, shapeable base.
- Eggs
- Bind the mashed potato and add structure so the croquettes hold their shape.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richer flavour and a softer, moister interior.
- Milk
- Adds moisture so the mashed potato becomes smooth and easy to shape.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned outer crust when fried.
The step that matters
Let the mixture cool, then shape it into croquettes.. The mixture must be cool and firm enough to hold its shape; shaping it warm makes it soft and sticky, so croquettes can fall apart in the oil.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, egg):
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits less well
- Leekfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, egg. 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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