Why it works: Potato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Croquettes of Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the potatoes until tender, then mash them.
Add melted butter and mix well.
Shape the mixture into small cakes.
Fry in hot oil until nicely browned.
Drain on lace paper and garnish with parsley, placing a parsley stem in the thin end of each croquette.
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.
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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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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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
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter):
- Parsleythe original
- Thymefits about as well
- Garlicfits less well
- Nutmegfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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