Why it works: Cream and butter 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 ↓
Salmon Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Mix flour and butter in a saucepan, then stir into boiling cream.
Add the chopped salmon and boil for one minute.
Stir in one well-beaten egg.
Shape and coat
Allow the mixture to cool, then shape into croquettes.
Coat the croquettes in breadcrumbs before frying.
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.
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Salmon + creamtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,401 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Forms the main body and flavour of the croquettes.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture so the croquettes hold their shape.
- Flour
- Thickens the cream into a base that holds the salmon together.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the mixture.
- Breadcrumbs
- Form a crisp, golden coating when fried.
The step that matters
Allow the mixture to cool before shaping. A hot, loose mixture is too soft to hold its shape. Cooling lets the flour-thickened cream and egg set enough to form firm croquettes that do not fall apart when coated and fried.
“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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Salmon Salad155 recipes
Canned Salmon14 recipes
Smoked Salmon14 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes