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Potato Croquettes

A fried potato mixture formed into balls or shapes, coated in egg and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Potato Croquettes

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

Make the potato mixture

  1. Pass the cooked potatoes through a wire sieve.

  2. Melt the butter in a pan, then add the potatoes, egg yolk, parsley, Parmesan, cayenne, and salt.

  3. Cook over low heat until the mixture can be rolled into smooth balls.

Shape and coat

  1. Allow to cool slightly, then form into balls, rolls, or fancy shapes.

  2. Coat each shape with beaten egg and breadcrumbs.

Fry and serve

  1. Fry in hot oil until golden brown.

  2. Drain on paper towels and garnish with parsley.

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. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,855 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

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

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Form the bulk of the croquettes and give a soft, fluffy interior when sieved.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, giving the mixture a smoother, more tender texture.
Egg yolk
Binds the mixture so it holds its shape when rolled and fried.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savoury, salty flavour and some firmness to the mixture.

The step that matters

Cook the mixture until it can be rolled. Cooking drives off excess moisture from the potatoes. If the mixture stays wet, the shapes will be soft and may break or burst in hot oil.

Swap the potato

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, parsley, parmesan cheese, 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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