Why it works: Bread and butter 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 ↓
Oyster Pie
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 filling
Chop the egg yolks very fine and mix with the bread crumbs. Season with salt, black pepper, and a little cayenne.
Remove all shell particles from the oysters and rinse them in a colander.
Place the oysters in a stew kettle with their liquor and strain through a fine sieve. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne.
Mix the butter and flour until smooth, then add to the oysters. Heat over low until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a slight boil, then remove from heat.
Assemble the pie
Prepare a rich pastry as directed in your preferred recipe.
Butter the sides of a pie dish with a wide edge.
Roll out the pastry moderately thin.
Line the sides of the dish, pressing it close.
Trim the edge with a sharp knife.
Add the oysters to the dish and top with the bread and egg mixture.
Roll out another piece of pastry for the lid.
Trim as before, and cut small points around the edge or leave it plain.
Make a small opening in the center and lay thin slips of pastry across.
Bake
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C).
Turn the dish frequently to ensure even baking and color.
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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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Oyster + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,545 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, 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
- Oysters
- Form the main filling and provide the briny flavor of the pie.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and body to the bread-based topping mixture.
- Bread
- Soaks up moisture and gives the topping a soft, crumbly texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and, with the flour, thickens the oyster liquor.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and oyster liquor into a smooth sauce.
The step that matters
Heat the oysters gently. Heating over low and stopping at a slight boil keeps the oysters tender and prevents the butter and flour sauce from scorching or turning grainy.
“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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