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Potato Croquettes

A fried potato patty mixed with butter, cream, eggs, parsley, and spices, coated in breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 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

Prepare the potatoes

  1. Wash, peel, and boil the potatoes until tender.

  2. Drain and mash them while hot through a fine sieve.

Make the mixture

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the mashed potatoes, cream, parsley, and seasoning.

  2. Stir well over medium heat for a few minutes.

  3. Beat the yolks of the eggs with a tablespoon of milk.

  4. Stir this into the potato mixture.

  5. Continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture is set.

  6. Remove from heat and let cool.

Shape and coat

  1. Divide the mixture into equal portions and shape into croquettes.

  2. Brush with slightly beaten egg yolk.

  3. Cover with breadcrumbs and reshape.

Fry and serve

  1. Fry in hot fat until golden brown.

  2. Drain the croquettes carefully.

  3. Plate 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.

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. Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

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

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

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

  4. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

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

  5. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Provide the starchy bulk that mashes smooth and holds the croquette shape together.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender texture in the mixture.
Cream
Adds moisture so the mashed potato stays soft and easy to shape.
Eggs
Bind the mixture as the yolks set on heating, and brown the coating when brushed on.
Breadcrumbs
Form a crisp, golden outer crust when the croquettes are fried.

The step that matters

Stirring until the mixture is set. The egg yolks coagulate as the mixture heats, firming it enough to shape. Stopping too early leaves it soft, so croquettes may slump or crack in the fat. Keep stirring so it does not scorch on the pan base.

Swap the potato

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cream, egg, parsley, pepper, nutmeg. 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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