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 ↓
Fish Balls No. 2
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the codfish and potatoes
Shred the uncooked codfish finely and wash it twice in cold water, squeezing it dry at the end.
Add the hot mashed potatoes and mix with a spoon until cool enough to use your hands.
Shape the cakes
Season with pepper and a little salt if necessary, then add the egg and butter, beating well.
Dip your hands in cold water, form the mixture into small cakes, and roll them in flour or egg and then in crumbs.
Fry
Heat lard or drippings in a flat pan to a depth of ¼ inch, then drop in the cakes.
Fry until browned on one side, then turn the cakes over.
Cook for about 10 minutes total.
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 + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Codfish
- Provides the main fish flavour and the flaky body of the cakes.
- Mashed potatoes
- Binds the fish together and keeps the cakes moist and tender.
- Egg
- Acts as a binder that helps the cakes hold their shape while frying.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the mixture.
- Flour or egg and crumbs
- Form a coating that browns during frying and gives a crisp outside.
The step that matters
Washing and squeezing the codfish. Excess salt and water left in the shredded cod can make the mixture loose and wet, so the cakes may fall apart or steam rather than brown. Washing and thoroughly squeezing the fish controls moisture and seasoning.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, egg, butter, flour):
- Chivefits better
- Shallotfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, egg, butter, flour. 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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