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Fish Croquettes

A fried fish and potato mixture shaped into balls and coated in breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Fish Croquettes

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 ↓

Fish Croquettes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and set aside to cool.

  2. Once cool, shape mixture into balls.

Coat and fry

  1. Roll balls in fine bread crumbs.

  2. Dip in beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water. Roll again in bread crumbs.

  3. Fry in hot fat until golden brown.

  4. Serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,855 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cold cooked fish
Forms the main body of the croquette and provides its flavor.
Hot mashed potatoes
Binds the fish together and adds a soft, moist interior.
Egg
Helps bind the mixture and, beaten, creates a coating that sets and browns.
Hot milk
Adds moisture and softness to the mashed potato and fish mixture.
Butter
Adds richness and fat that contributes to a tender texture and flavor.

The step that matters

Let the mixture cool before shaping. Warm mixture is soft and sticky, so balls may lose their shape. Cooling lets the starch and egg firm up, helping the croquettes hold together during coating and frying.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, egg, potato, pepper, milk, butter):

  1. Parsleythe original
  2. Nutmegfits about as well
  3. Thymefits less well
  4. Dillfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, egg, potato, pepper, milk, butter. 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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