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
Prepare
In a bowl, combine mashed potatoes, beaten eggs, melted butter, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and onion if using.
Form the mixture into croquettes.
Coat and fry
Roll each croquette in beaten egg, then coat with cracker crumbs.
Fry the croquettes in deep fat 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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mashed potatoes
- Forms the main body of the croquettes and gives them a soft, moist interior.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture together and form a coating that helps crumbs stick.
- Melted butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the potato mixture.
The step that matters
Frying in deep fat. The oil must be hot enough to brown the outside quickly. If it is too cool, the croquettes absorb excess oil and turn greasy before a crisp crust forms, and the interior may not heat through.
Swap the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, egg, butter, pepper, parsley):
- Chivefits better
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, egg, butter, pepper, 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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