Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 ↓
Egg Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Finely chop the hard-boiled eggs or rub them through a wire sieve.
In a skillet, lightly fry the mushrooms in the butter.
Stir in the flour, then add the milk and bring to a boil.
Add the chopped eggs, season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg, and mix well over low heat.
Spread the mixture on a plate and let it cool before shaping.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Nutmeg + parsleytop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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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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Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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 (egg, mushroom, butter, flour, milk, nutmeg, pepper):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Parsleythe original
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Thymefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, mushroom, butter, flour, milk, nutmeg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
More egg croquettes recipes
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