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
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 again until the mixture binds together.
Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Shape and coat
Let the mixture cool, then shape it into small cork-shaped croquettes or balls.
Dip each croquette in the beaten egg.
Brush each croquette with egg.
Coat each croquette with breadcrumbs.
Fry and serve
Fry the croquettes in very hot oil until golden brown.
Serve with fried parsley.
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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Parsley + buttertop 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 bulk of the mixture, giving the croquettes their soft, fluffy interior.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavour and helps keep the mashed potato soft and smooth.
- Egg yolks
- Bind the potato mixture together when it is cooked again, giving it a firm, cohesive texture.
- Breadcrumbs
- Form a crisp, golden outer crust when the croquettes are fried.
The step that matters
Cooking the mixture again after adding the egg yolks. Gentle heat lets the egg proteins set and bind the potato so the croquettes hold their shape. Overheating can scramble the yolks, and an under-set mixture will crack or fall apart during frying.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, butter, egg, pepper):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Carrotfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, butter, egg, 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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