Why it works: Corn and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 938 recipes mention both. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: breadcrumbs
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the sauce and filling
Beat the mashed potatoes until light and creamy, mixing in 1 egg yolk.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, add corn starch, and stir until smooth.
Add cream and stir until the sauce thickens, then remove from heat.
Stir in the remaining egg yolk, cooked fish, and season with salt and pepper.
Assemble and bake
In a greased baking dish, layer the potato mixture and fish alternately.
Mix bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese and the remaining melted butter, then cover the top.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 20 minutes.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Corn + potatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together938 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Parmesan cheese + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,158 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cream + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Potato + peppertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,303 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Fish + buttertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,432 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cooked fish
- Forms the main body of the dish as the flaked protein layer.
- Mashed potatoes
- Adds creamy body and moisture to the layers.
- Cream or milk
- Provides the liquid that becomes the thick, smooth sauce.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the sauce as it heats with the liquid.
- Egg yolks
- Enriches the sauce and helps bind the filling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat for flavor and a smooth texture.
The step that matters
Thickening the sauce with corn starch. Corn starch must be stirred into the melted butter until smooth and then heated with the cream. The starch swells and thickens only once the liquid is hot. Adding it without stirring creates lumps, and stopping before the sauce thickens leaves it thin and floury-tasting.
Flavor stand-ins for the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parmesan cheese, corn, cream, fish, butter, egg, pepper):
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusabout as good a flavor fit
- Capsicumabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against parmesan cheese, corn, cream, fish, butter, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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