Why it works: Mushroom and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,176 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Oyster Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock base
Bring 3 pints of fish stock and 1 quart of white stock to a boil in a large stewpan.
Mix 1 handful of white roux with 1 pint of boiling stock using a wire whisk until smooth in a separate pan. Add another pint of boiling stock to the roux mixture and stir until creamy.
Combine the roux mixture with the remaining stock in the stewpan. Stir until it boils, then reduce heat.
Let it simmer until it thickens to the consistency of single cream.
Cook the oysters and finish
Boil 3 dozen oysters with ⅓ cup of water for a few minutes in another stewpan. Remove the oysters from heat.
Slice 12 fresh mushrooms thinly.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the soup along with ½ cup of sherry.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Mushroom + sherrytop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,176 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).
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Fish + oystertop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together496 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Fish + mushroomtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together444 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Oyster + mushroomtop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Oyster + sherrytop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together340 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White roux
- Thickens the stock into a creamy soup as its starch cooks.
- Fish stock
- Provides the main liquid and savoury seafood flavour of the soup.
- Oysters
- Add the main seafood flavour and tender texture to the soup.
- Mushrooms
- Add earthy flavour and a meaty texture to the soup.
- Sherry
- Adds acidity and aromatic depth to the finished soup.
The step that matters
Simmering the roux mixture. Roux thickens only when its starch is fully cooked, so the soup must simmer long enough to reach the stated consistency. Adding the roux to liquid that is not hot enough or rushing the simmer can leave it thin or floury-tasting.
“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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