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Ham Croquettes

A fried croquette made with ham, bread crumbs, mashed potatoes, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Ham Croquettes

Why it works: Ham and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

Ham Croquettes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a bowl, combine the ham, bread crumbs, mashed potatoes, batter, Cayenne, and 2 of the eggs.

  2. Let the mixture cool slightly, then shape it into croquettes.

Coat and fry

  1. Roll the croquettes in bread crumbs, dip in the remaining beaten egg, and coat again in crumbs.

  2. Heat oil in a frying basket and plunge the croquettes into the boiling fat.

  3. Cook for 2 minutes, then drain and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  2. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Bread + potatotop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together434 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  5. Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,964 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cooked ham
Provides the savoury meaty flavour that defines the croquette.
Mashed potatoes
Bind the mixture and give the croquettes a soft, moist interior.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, golden outer coating when fried.
Eggs
Bind the filling and form a coating that helps the crumbs stick.
Batter
Adds body and helps hold the filling together.

The step that matters

Coat and chill-set before frying. The mixture must be cool enough to shape but still firm, and the crumb coating must be even. Loose or thin coating can split open in hot oil, letting filling escape and the croquette absorb excess fat.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, bread, egg, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Mustardfits better
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, bread, 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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