Name: Scotch Woodcock
Ingredients: 1 thick slice of buttered toast; anchovy paste; 2 egg yolks; 2 tablespoons cream; 1 tablespoon butter

Why it works: Cream and butter match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 41,494 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Scotch Woodcock

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare a thick slice of buttered toast.
Spread anchovy paste over the toast.
In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, cream, and butter until smooth.
Spread the custard mixture over the toast.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Cream + buttertop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together41,494 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Anchovy + eggtop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together2,268 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Anchovy + buttertop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together3,672 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Egg + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together118,511 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Anchovy + creamtop 10% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together795 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).