Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Oyster Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Strain the liquor from a hundred oysters into the soup kettle.
Add a quart of milk, a little mace, cloves, pepper, and salt, with a little rolled cracker.
Boil 20 minutes.
Add the oysters and serve
Then put in the oysters.
Stir frequently.
Fifteen minutes after the oysters are in, serve it up.
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 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | 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.
-
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Mace + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Milk + macetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,346 recipes
Shared aroma: sabinene (woody, terpenic).
-
Milk + clovetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,165 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Mace and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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 flavor and the body of the soup, releasing their liquor into the broth.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy base of the soup and gives it a mild, sweet richness.
- Rolled cracker (in the method)
- Thickens the milk slightly, giving the soup more body.
The step that matters
Add the oysters after the boil. Oysters turn tough and rubbery when overcooked, so they should go in only after the milk has boiled and be cooked just until they curl at the edges.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, clove, pepper):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, clove, pepper. 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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