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 ↓
Fish Rissoles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Stew the shredded fish in butter until done.
Soak the French roll in milk.
Mix and bake
Beat the fish and roll it with the soaked roll, chopped onion, eggs, salt, and pepper.
Mix well and bake in buttered small cups.
Serve
Turn out and serve with or without sauce.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Fish + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,432 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 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
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set into a firm patty as they heat.
- French roll
- Soaked in milk, it adds moisture and softens the texture of the patties.
- Fish
- Provides the main flavour and the bulk of each patty.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture while the fish is cooked.
The step that matters
Mix well and bake in buttered small cups. Eggs set as they heat and proteins firm up. Baking too long pushes out moisture and dries the patties, while mixing thoroughly spreads the eggs and soaked roll evenly so the patties hold together.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, butter, milk, egg, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, butter, milk, 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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