Why it works: Bread and butter match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 27,145 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Plain Oyster Patties
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make a hole in the top of each roll and scrape out some of the crumb.
Make the filling
In a stew pan, combine the oysters with their liquor, bread crumbs, and butter.
Season with black pepper and Cayenne, then stew for 5-6 minutes.
Stir in the cream and fill the rolls with the mixture.
Finish and bake
Cover with the reserved bits of crust and place in the oven for a few minutes to crisp.
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.
-
Bread + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,145 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Oyster + breadtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,544 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Oyster + buttertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,175 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Bread + peppertop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned 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
- Oysters
- Provide the main filling and a briny, savoury flavour as they cook in the stew pan.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb the oyster liquor and thicken the filling so it holds together inside the rolls.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that carries flavour and keeps the filling moist.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and a smooth, rich texture to the finished filling.
The step that matters
Stewing the oysters. Oysters turn tough and rubbery if overcooked, so the 5-6 minute stew should be kept brief and gentle. The crumbs need enough time to absorb the liquor and thicken the mixture.
“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.
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes
Oatmeal Bread51 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.