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Scalloped Oysters

Oysters baked with butter, flour, stock, cream, and bread crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Isabella Beeton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,449 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Scalloped Oysters

6 persons

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the oysters

  1. Scald the oysters in their own liquor.

  2. Take them out, beard them, and strain the liquor free from grit.

Make the sauce

  1. Put 1 oz. of batter into a stewpan; when melted, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up.

  2. Add the stock, cream, and strained liquor, and give one boil.

  3. Put in the oysters and seasoning; let them gradually heat through, but not boil.

Assemble and bake

  1. Have ready the scallop-shells buttered; lay in the oysters, and as much of the liquid as they will hold.

  2. Cover them over with bread crumbs, over which drop a little oiled butter.

  3. Brown them in the oven, or before the fire, and serve quickly, and very hot.

Alternative assembly

  1. Prepare the oysters as in the preceding recipe.

  2. Put them in a scallop-shell or saucer.

  3. Between each layer sprinkle over a few bread crumbs, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg.

  4. Place small pieces of butter over.

  5. Bake before the fire in a Dutch oven.

  6. Put sufficient bread crumbs on the top to make a smooth surface, as the oysters should not be seen.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

57Calories
1 gProtein
6 gFat
2 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
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 Isabella Beeton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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)
Are the main ingredient, gently heated so they cook through without toughening.
Butter (in the method)
Enriches the sauce and, drizzled on top, promotes browning of the crumb crust.
Flour (in the method)
Thickens the melted butter into a roux that gives the sauce body.
Cream
Adds richness and smoothness to the sauce.
Bread crumbs (in the method)
Form a crisp, browned topping over the oysters.

The step that matters

Put in the oysters and seasoning; let them gradually heat through, but not boil.. Oysters are delicate protein and become tough and shrunken when boiled, so they should warm gently in the sauce until just hot.

“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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