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Beep Croquettes

A fried patty of minced beef, mashed potato, gravy, and seasonings coated in breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,609 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Beep Croquettes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mixture

  1. Mash the potatoes while hot until very smooth, or ensure cold potatoes are free from lumps.

  2. Mix in the minced beef, gravy, catsup, pepper, salt, marjoram, and beaten egg.

Shape and fry

  1. Form the mixture into desired shapes and roll them in fine bread crumbs.

  2. Fry the croquettes quickly in hot oil until light brown.

  3. Drain on soft paper until free from fat 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. Pepper + marjoramtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,609 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  3. Potato + marjoramtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together135 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

  5. Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,052 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

What each ingredient does

Minced beef
Provides the main body and savory flavor of the croquettes.
Mashed potato
Binds the mixture and adds moisture and a soft interior texture.
Egg
Binds the mixture together so it holds its shape when fried.
Gravy
Adds moisture and savory depth to the mixture.
Fine bread crumbs
Forms a crisp, golden-brown coating when fried.

The step that matters

Frying the croquettes. Hot oil sets and browns the crumb coating quickly, so the inside heats through without the outside becoming greasy or dark. Oil that is too cool lets the croquettes absorb fat and fall apart.

Swap the marjoram

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, potato, onion, pepper, egg, bread):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Garlicfits better
  3. Thymefits about as well
  4. Marjoramthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, potato, onion, pepper, egg, bread. 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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