Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Potato Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, combine mashed potatoes, butter, beaten egg whites, salt, and pepper.
Shape the mixture into balls the size of an egg.
Place the balls on a well-buttered baking sheet.
Brush the tops with beaten egg.
Bake and serve
Bake until golden brown.
Carefully slide a knife under the croquettes and transfer them to a platter.
Sprinkle with brown bread crumbs and garnish with parsley.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mashed potatoes
- Form the bulk of the croquettes and give a soft, tender interior.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor, and helps the surface brown.
- Egg whites
- Bind the mixture so the balls hold their shape while baking.
- Egg
- Brushed on top to promote a glossy, golden browning.
The step that matters
Shape the mixture into balls. The mixture is soft and moist, so it needs to be firm enough to hold its shape. Shaping it evenly means the croquettes bake at the same rate and keep their form instead of spreading or cracking.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, pepper, bread, parsley):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, pepper, bread, parsley. 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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