Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Potato Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the croquettes
Boil and mash the potatoes.
Add butter, hot cream or milk, beaten egg whites, salt, and pepper.
When cool enough to handle, shape the mixture into croquettes.
Coat and fry
Roll each croquette in egg and then in cracker crumbs.
Fry in hot lard until golden brown.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Potato + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Starchy base that mashes into a soft mixture that holds its shape when shaped.
- Egg whites
- Bind the mash together and set when heated, giving the croquettes structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, smoother texture in the mash.
- Cream or milk
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the mash soft and easy to shape.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned outer crust when fried.
The step that matters
Fry in hot lard until golden brown. If the lard is not hot enough, the coating absorbs fat and turns greasy before it crisps. Hot fat sets the crumb coating quickly, forming a crust that seals in the moist filling.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, cream, egg, pepper):
- Potatothe original
- Spinachfits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cream, 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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