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Salmon Balls

Fried balls made from minced salmon, mashed potatoes, butter, egg, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and pepper 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 ↓

Salmon Balls

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. In a bowl, combine the minced salmon and mashed potatoes.

  2. Add the butter and beaten egg, mixing thoroughly.

  3. Season with salt and pepper.

Shape and fry

  1. Roll the mixture into balls.

  2. Fry the balls in boiling oil until golden brown.

  3. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

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

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

  2. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

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

  3. Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  4. Salmon + eggtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,485 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  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

Salmon
Provides the main body and flavor of the balls.
Mashed potatoes
Adds bulk and moisture, helping the mixture hold together while shaping.
Egg
Binds the mixture so the balls hold their shape during frying.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, contributing to flavor and a tender texture.

The step that matters

Fry the balls in boiling oil until golden brown. The oil must be hot enough to brown the outside quickly. If it is too cool, the balls absorb more oil and can fall apart or turn greasy before the surface sets.

Swap the potato

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, butter, 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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