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Scallop of Oysters and Macaront

A baked casserole of oysters and macaroni with butter, cream, and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Scallop of Oysters and Macaront

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Break macaroni into 2-inch pieces and boil in water for 8 minutes.

  2. Drain the macaroni.

  3. Cool the macaroni in cold water for 15 minutes.

  4. Drain the macaroni again.

Assemble and bake

  1. Layer oysters and macaroni in a baking dish, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper.

  2. Finish with a layer of macaroni on top.

  3. Cut butter into small pieces and distribute over the top.

  4. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top.

  5. Pour cream over the dish.

  6. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

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.

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. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  4. Oyster + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,545 recipes

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

  5. Pepper + breadtop 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

Macaroni
Forms the starchy body of the casserole, holding its layers together as it bakes.
Oysters
Provide the main flavour and a tender, briny texture once baked.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the bread crumbs brown on top.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, softening the pasta and oysters as they bake.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, golden topping through browning in the oven.

The step that matters

Cool the macaroni in cold water. Rinsing cooked pasta in cold water stops the cooking so it does not turn soft and mushy, keeping its texture intact through baking.

“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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