Why it works: Milk and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 26,984 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Siiell-fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dish
Butter a baking dish with breadcrumbs and butter.
Take crushed crackers, not too fine.
Drain liquor from a quart of oysters and remove shell bits.
Butter a deep dish or pan, cover bottom with crackers.
Layer and bake
Place a layer of oysters, season with salt and pepper.
Add a layer of breadcrumbs and another layer of oysters.
Repeat until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of breadcrumbs, butter, and seasoning.
Add oyster liquor with a small dash of cayenne pepper over the top.
Place in a hot oven for thirty minutes, baking until a rich brown color, and serve hot.
Add a layer of oysters seasoned with salt and pepper and bits of butter, about a tablespoon each layer.
Add a layer of crackers, then oysters, repeating until dish is full, finishing with crackers covered with bits of butter.
Pour over the oyster liquor, added to one pint boiling water, boiled and slightly skimmed.
Place in a hot oven, bake fifteen minutes.
Add another pint of hot water if needed, or half pint water and half pint milk with a small lump of butter melted.
Bake another half hour, cover with tin or sheet-iron lid to prevent browning too much.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
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Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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 filling, releasing their liquor as they bake into the layers.
- Breadcrumbs (in the method)
- Form absorbent layers that soak up oyster liquor and hold the dish together.
- Crackers (in the method)
- Form absorbent layers that soak up oyster liquor and hold the dish together.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and helps the top layer brown in the oven.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness to the liquid poured over the layers.
The step that matters
Cover the dish during the final bake. Browning too much before the oysters and liquid are set can scorch the top, so a cover slows surface browning while the interior cooks through.
“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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