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 ↓
Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the base
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden.
Gradually add the milk, whisking until smooth and thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks and grated onion.
Shape and fry
Mix the cooked meat or vegetables into the sauce and chill.
Shape the mixture into small patties or balls.
Fry the croquettes in deep fat until golden brown.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Enriches the flour-based sauce and adds flavour to the croquettes.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a binding sauce that holds the croquettes together.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, which thickens as it heats.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the mixture as it sets.
- Cooked meat or vegetables
- Provide the main filling and bulk of the croquettes.
The step that matters
Chilling the mixture before shaping. A thick, chilled mixture firms up so it can be shaped without slumping. If it is still warm and soft, the croquettes may lose their shape or split in the hot fat.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, flour, milk, meat):
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, flour, milk, meat. 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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