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Cod Fish Balls

A savory dish of mashed cod and potatoes formed into balls and fried.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Cod Fish Balls

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 ↓

Cod Fish Balls

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the fish, remove bones, and cut into half‑inch pieces.

  2. Pare the potatoes and cut them into quarters.

Cook and mash

  1. Place the potatoes and fish in a stew pan and cover with boiling water.

  2. Boil for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, but do not overcook.

  3. Drain all the water, then mash and beat the fish and potatoes until light.

  4. Add the butter and pepper, then mix in the egg when slightly cooled.

Shape and fry

  1. Shape into tablespoon‑sized balls without smoothing too much.

  2. Fry in smoking hot lard for one minute, then drain on soft paper.

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.

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.

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

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

  2. Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,488 recipes

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

  3. Potato + buttertop 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. Egg + buttertop 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

Salt fish
Provides the main savoury flavour and the bulk of the fritter.
Potatoes
Adds starch and softness, binding the mixture and giving a light texture.
Egg
Binds the mixture so the balls hold their shape while frying.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the mashed mixture.

The step that matters

Do not overcook the potatoes. Overboiled potatoes absorb too much water and turn gluey, making the mash wet and hard to shape. Stopping when they are just soft keeps the mixture firm and light.

Swap the potato

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

  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 fish, egg, pepper, butter. 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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