Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Potato Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Mix the mashed potatoes with salt, pepper, butter, and milk or cream until well combined.
Stir in one beaten egg and form the mixture into small, smooth rolls.
Coat and fry
Dip each roll into the second beaten egg, then coat with cracker crumbs.
Fry the croquettes in hot oil until golden brown.
Drain on brown paper and serve on a napkin.
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 + 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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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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
- Mashed potatoes
- Form the bulk of the croquette and give a soft, tender interior.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother, more tender texture.
- Milk or cream
- Adds moisture so the mixture holds together softly without drying out.
- Beaten egg
- Binds the mixture so the rolls keep their shape, and the second egg helps the crumbs stick.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp outer coating that browns during frying.
The step that matters
Fry in hot oil until golden brown. If the oil is not hot enough, the croquettes absorb oil and turn greasy before the crumb coating browns and crisps. Oil that is hot enough sets the crust quickly, keeping the inside moist.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, milk, egg):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, milk, egg. 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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