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Oyster Stew

A stew of oysters cooked in a butter‑flour‑milk base, seasoned with salt, pepper, and optional celery salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Ronald · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Oyster Stew

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish.

  2. Add a heaping tablespoonful of flour and cook a few minutes, stirring all the time so it will not color.

  3. Add a cupful of milk slowly and stir until it begins to thicken.

Add the oysters

  1. Add the oyster liquor (strained to be free from pieces of shell).

  2. Add the oysters.

  3. Season with salt, pepper, and a little celery salt if liked.

  4. As soon as the edges of the oysters curl, stop cooking to avoid toughness.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

257Calories
8 gProtein
20 gFat
14 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
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 Mary Ronald. 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. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Butter
Enriches the stew and gives it a rich, smooth flavor.
Flour (in the method)
Thickens the milk into a smooth, creamy base when cooked briefly.
Milk
Forms the creamy liquid that thickens with the flour.
Oysters (in the method)
Provide the main ingredient and tender, briny flavor.
Oyster liquor (in the method)
Adds the concentrated sea flavor of the oysters to the broth.

The step that matters

Stop cooking as soon as the oyster edges curl. Oyster proteins tighten quickly when heated, so overcooking makes them firm and tough. Removing them at the first curl keeps them tender.

“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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