Why it works: Potato and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,456 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Codfish Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
In a bowl, combine the mashed potatoes and minced codfish with butter. Mix well, then add the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly again.
Fry
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into hot lard and fry until golden brown.
For a nice presentation, use croquette baskets for frying.
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 + 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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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
- Provide the bulk and soft body that holds the balls together.
- Codfish
- Supplies the main flavour and savoury protein of the balls.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture so the balls hold their shape while frying.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the mashed potato base.
The step that matters
Frying in hot lard. The lard must be hot enough to brown the outside quickly. If it is too cool, the balls absorb fat, turn greasy, and can fall apart before a crust forms.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg):
- Asparagusfits better
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, 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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