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Stewed Oysters

A stew of oysters cooked with milk, butter, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Stewed Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the oysters

  1. Drain the liquor from two quarts of firm, plump oysters.

  2. Mix with a small teacup of hot water.

  3. Add salt and pepper.

  4. Set over the fire in a saucepan.

Make the stew

  1. When it comes to a boil, add a large cup of rich milk (cream is better).

  2. Let it boil up once.

  3. Put in the oysters.

  4. Let them boil five minutes, no more.

  5. When they are "ruffled" add two tablespoonfuls of butter. Stir in and melt the butter.

  6. Take the saucepan from the fire.

  7. Serve with oyster or cream crackers.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

257Calories
8 gProtein
20 gFat
14 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed. 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. See the original page.

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. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

What each ingredient does

Oysters (in the method)
Provide the main body and briny flavour of the stew.
Rich milk
Forms the creamy liquid that gives the stew its smooth, rich texture.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, finishing the stew with a smooth, velvety mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Let them boil five minutes, no more. Oysters are protein-rich and toughen and shrink when overcooked. A brief simmer until their edges just curl, or ruffle, keeps them tender and plump.

“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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