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To Pickle Oysters

A method for pickling oysters using cream, vinegar, mace, pepper, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hodgson, Mary, fl. 1855 · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

To Pickle Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

Poach the oysters

  1. Put the oysters in the juice and boil them until plump.

  2. Take the oysters out.

Make the pickle

  1. Add half as much vinegar as juice, a little mace, and some grains of pepper to your taste.

  2. Boil this slowly.

  3. Pour over the oysters; they are done.

Make the cream sauce

  1. Take a hundred oysters and put them in a stew pan with boiling water enough to cover them.

  2. Stir them until they are plump.

  3. Take them out with a strainer.

  4. Add half as much juice as there is water in the pot, with some mace, whole grains of pepper, and salt, half pint of cream, and a piece of butter.

  5. Sprinkle in two crackers rolled very fine.

  6. Put the oysters back in and keep stirring for a few minutes until done.

Assemble and bake the pie

  1. Make a puff pastry and put some around the sides of a deep dish.

  2. Have a hundred good oysters.

  3. Take each oyster out of the liquor with a wooden spoon or fork.

  4. Mash the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs as finely as possible.

  5. Put a layer of oysters in the dish.

  6. Sprinkle a little of the egg mixture with some mace and whole grains of pepper over the oysters.

  7. Add another layer of oysters with the egg mixture, and spice as above, filling the dish.

  8. Sprinkle a little butter on the top.

  9. Place a small egg cup in the centre of the pie to prevent the top paste from touching the liquor.

  10. Strain the liquor and put it in according to your judgment.

  11. Cut a cross in the centre of the paste and open it to let the steam escape.

  12. Let it bake slowly.

  13. If the paste gets too brown, put a sheet of white paper over the top.

  14. If the oysters are fresh, add some salt.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

593Calories
20 gProtein
12 gFat
98 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Macenot 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.

By Hodgson, Mary, fl. 1855. 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. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Mace + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,257 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Cream + macetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,009 recipes
  4. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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)
Form the main body of the filling and supply most of its savoury, briny flavour.
Crackers
Rolled fine and stirred into the liquor, they help thicken it so it clings to the oysters.
Eggs
Mashed yolks enrich the filling and give it a softer, smoother body between the oyster layers.
Cream
Adds richness and a smooth, mellow texture to the sauce around the oysters.
Butter (in the method)
Adds fat for richness and flavour, and a little on top helps the crust brown.

The step that matters

Let it bake slowly.. A gentle oven lets the filling heat through and the egg and cream mixture set without curdling, while the pastry bakes evenly without scorching before the centre is hot.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg, vinegar, pepper):

  1. Tarragonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream, egg, vinegar, 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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