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Fish Balls

A savory ball made from fish, potatoes, egg, butter, pepper, and salt, fried until brown.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and potato 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

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish and potatoes

  1. Wash the fish in cold water and break it into small pieces.

  2. Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them into pieces.

  3. Cook the fish and potatoes together in boiling water until the potatoes are soft.

  4. Drain and shake over the fire until dry.

Make the mixture

  1. Mash the mixture with a wire potato masher.

  2. Add the beaten egg, butter, and pepper to the mash.

  3. Add more salt if needed.

  4. Beat the mixture until light.

Shape and fry

  1. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and mold the spoonfuls slightly.

  2. Slip the molded balls into the hot fat.

  3. Fry for one minute, or until brown.

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.

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 + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  2. Butter + fishtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,488 recipes

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

  3. Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

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

  4. Fish + potatotop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together134 recipes

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

  5. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Binds the mash together and helps the balls hold their shape.
Potatoes
Provide starch and bulk, giving the mash a soft, tender body.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the mash.
Fish
Supplies the main flavour and protein, flaked into the mash.

The step that matters

Drain and dry the fish and potatoes. Excess water makes the mash loose and soggy, so the balls may fall apart or absorb too much oil. Drying over the heat evaporates surface moisture, letting the mixture hold its shape and brown well in the hot fat.

Swap the potato

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

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Asparagusfits about as well
  3. Potatothe original
  4. Chivefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, fish, 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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