Why it works: Egg and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 29% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,978 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Codfish Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Mash the codfish very smooth.
Add the mashed potatoes and one beaten egg, then mix thoroughly.
Form the mixture into small balls about the size of an English walnut.
Coat and fry
Roll the balls in flour, then in the remaining egg, and finally in cracker crumbs.
Fry the balls in deep fat until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels, then pile on a platter and garnish with fried potatoes and parsley.
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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Egg + potatotop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,978 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Codfish
- Provides the main flavour and the bulk of the fish mass that holds each ball together.
- Mashed potatoes
- Adds starch and moisture that bind the mixture and keep the centre soft.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and form a coating that helps the crumbs stick.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp outer crust that browns well when fried.
The step that matters
Fry the balls in deep fat until golden brown.. The fat must be hot enough to crisp the coating quickly. If it is too cool, the balls absorb oil and turn greasy. If it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre heats through.
“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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