Why it works: Oyster and anchovy work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 603 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Oyster Sauce for Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the oysters
Scald a pint of oysters, and strain them through a sieve.
Wash the oysters some more in cold water, and take off their beards.
Make the sauce
Put the oysters in a stew-pan, and pour the liquor over them.
Add a large spoonful of anchovy liquor, half a lemon, two blades of mace, and thicken it with butter rolled in flour.
Put in half a pound of butter, and boil it till it is melted.
Take out the mace and lemon, and squeeze the lemon juice into the sauce.
Boil it, and stir it all the time.
Put it in a boat.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Anchovy | 100g | 210 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Oyster | 6 medium (84g) | 81 |
| Liquor | not in our table | 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.
-
Oyster + anchovytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together603 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Anchovy + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + macetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,405 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Oyster + macetop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,910 recipes
Butter and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,405 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
- Form the main body of the sauce and provide its briny, savoury flavour.
- Butter
- Adds richness and, rolled in flour, thickens the sauce into a smooth coating.
- Anchovy liquor
- Adds a salty, savoury depth that rounds out the oyster flavour.
- Lemon (in the method)
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and cuts its richness.
- Mace
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice note to the sauce.
The step that matters
Stir constantly while boiling the sauce. Butter and flour thickened sauces can scorch on the bottom of the pan or separate if left unstirred, so constant stirring keeps the sauce smooth and evenly thickened.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oyster, anchovy, butter):
- Capersfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against oyster, anchovy, butter. 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.
You might also like
Mock Oyster Soup21 recipes
Corn Fritters6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.