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
Prepare the potato base
Boil the potatoes until tender, then pass them through a wire sieve.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the hot potatoes, and mix well.
Remove from heat and beat in the egg yolks, cooking until the mixture binds together.
Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Shape and coat
Allow the mixture to cool, then shape it into small cork-shaped croquettes or balls.
Dip each croquette in the beaten egg, brush with egg, and coat with breadcrumbs.
Fry and serve
Fry in very hot oil until golden brown and serve with fried parsley on lace paper.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the starchy base that binds the croquettes and gives a soft interior.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, coating the potato for a smoother texture.
- Egg yolks
- Bind the mixture and help it set firm when cooked.
- Breadcrumbs
- Form a crisp, golden outer crust when fried.
The step that matters
Cooking the mixture until it binds after adding the egg yolks. Heating the egg yolks in the warm potato mixture sets them and helps the mass hold its shape. Undercooked yolks leave the croquettes soft and likely to break apart when shaped or fried.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, parsley, pepper):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Carrotfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, parsley, 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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