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 ↓
Fish Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a fairly hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the mixture
Heat the butter or fat in a saucepan.
Add the fish, mashed potatoes, half the yolk of the egg, salt, pepper, and enough milk to moisten thoroughly.
Stir the mixture over the heat for a few minutes, then transfer to a plate and let it cool.
Shape and fry
Shape the cooled mixture into round, flat cakes.
Brush the cakes with the remaining egg, cover with breadcrumbs, and fry in hot fat.
Shape and bake
Grease a flat tin and shape the mixture like a fish.
Brush with egg and cover with slightly browned crumbs.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes.
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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Fish + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,668 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
- Cold fish
- Forms the bulk and flavor of the cakes, giving them their main texture.
- Mashed potatoes
- Adds body and moisture, helping the mixture hold together when shaped.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and, brushed on top, promotes golden browning.
- Butter or good fat
- Adds richness and flavor, and helps the outside brown when frying.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, lightly browned coating on the outside of the cakes.
- Milk
- Moistens the mixture so it stays tender rather than dry.
The step that matters
Cool the mixture before shaping. Cooling firms the moist fish and potato mixture so the cakes hold their shape. Shaping it while still hot makes it soft and sticky, so the cakes may break apart when coated and cooked.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, butter, egg, bread, milk, pepper):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Tomatofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, butter, egg, bread, milk, 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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