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Spiced Oysters

A dish of oysters simmered with cloves, allspice, mace, cayenne, salt, and cider vinegar.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spiced Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

Poach

  1. Strain the oyster liquor through a sieve and put it in a saucepan.

  2. Add the oysters, spices, salt, and cider vinegar.

  3. Place them over a slow fire.

  4. As soon as they boil, remove them from the heat.

Cool and store

  1. Pour the oysters into a large bowl.

  2. Let them cool.

  3. Cover the oysters.

  4. Store the oysters.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

104Calories
10 gProtein
3 gFat
9 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Oyster6 medium (84g)81
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Allspice1 tsp ground (1.9g)5
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Macenot in our table0
Cidernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  5. Clove + macetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Oysters
Provide the main ingredient; gentle heat firms them while the vinegar flavours them.
Cider vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps preserve the pickled oysters.
Cloves
Add warm, aromatic spice flavour to the brine.
Allspice
Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the brine.

The step that matters

Remove the oysters as soon as they boil. Oysters overcook quickly and turn tough and rubbery when held at a boil, so heat should be removed the moment boiling starts.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oyster, clove, allspice, pepper, cider, vinegar):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Nutmegfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against oyster, clove, allspice, pepper, cider, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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