Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Codfish Balls
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
In a bowl, combine mashed potatoes, codfish, butter, milk, egg, bread crumbs, and pepper.
Form the mixture into oval balls.
Roll each ball in beaten egg, then in fine bread crumbs.
Fry and serve
Heat lard in a deep fryer or large pot.
Fry the balls in the hot lard until golden brown.
Remove the basket and let the balls drain briefly.
Serve on a napkin.
If needed, keep warm in a 300°F (150°C) oven on brown 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.
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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 + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mashed potatoes
- Provide the bulk and soft body that holds the fish mixture together.
- Codfish
- Supplies the main flavour and savoury protein of the balls.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and, beaten, helps the bread crumb coating stick.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden coating when fried.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat for a tender interior.
- Rich milk
- Adds moisture so the mixture stays soft rather than dry.
The step that matters
Frying the coated balls. Lard must be hot enough that the crumb coating browns quickly; if it is too cool, the balls absorb fat and turn greasy before the centre heats through.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, egg, bread, pepper):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Tomatofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, egg, bread, 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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