Why it works: Parsley and pepper 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
Prepare the potatoes
Wash, scrub, and peel the potatoes.
Boil the potatoes until tender, then pass them through a wire sieve while hot.
Make the mixture
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the milk, and mix in the sifted potato over low heat.
Remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg yolk, parsley, pepper, and salt.
Spread the mixture on a plate and let it cool.
Fry
Heat clarified dripping in a deep saucepan until it stops bubbling and blue smoke rises.
Form the potato mixture into balls and fry until golden brown.
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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Parsley + peppertop 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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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 + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Potatoes
- Provide the starchy bulk that forms the soft body of the croquettes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the mixture a smoother, softer texture.
- Egg yolk
- Binds the mixture and helps it hold its shape when formed and fried.
- Milk
- Adds moisture that keeps the potato mixture soft and easy to shape.
The step that matters
Heat the dripping until blue smoke rises. The fat must be hot enough to crisp the outside quickly. If it is too cool, the croquettes absorb oil and turn greasy before browning. Blue smoke signals it is near the point where it breaks down, so heat should be watched closely.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, milk, egg, pepper):
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Dillfits less well
- Cinnamonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, milk, egg, pepper. 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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