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Oyster Fritters

Oysters dropped into a batter of eggs, flour, milk and nutmeg, then fried in butter or lard until light brown.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Leslie · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Oyster Fritters

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Have ready some of the finest and largest oysters.

  2. Drain the oysters from the liquor and wipe them dry.

Make the batter

  1. Beat six eggs very light.

  2. Stir gradually six table-spoonfuls of fine sifted flour into the eggs.

  3. Add by degrees a pint and a half of rich milk and some grated nutmeg.

  4. Beat it to a smooth batter.

  5. If the batter is too thin, add a little more flour beaten well into it.

  6. If it is too thick, thin it with some additional milk.

Fry and serve

  1. Make your frying-pan very hot, and put into it a piece of butter or lard.

  2. When it has melted and begins to froth, put in a small ladle-full of the batter.

  3. Drop an oyster in the middle of it, and fry it of a light brown.

  4. Send them to table hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

647Calories
20 gProtein
19 gFat
97 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Eliza Leslie. 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. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together24,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Eggs
Beaten light, they give the batter structure and help the fritters set when fried.
Flour
Thickens the batter and provides the body that holds each fritter together.
Milk (in the method)
Thins the batter to a smooth consistency and adds moisture and tenderness.
Butter
Fries the fritters in the pan, adding richness and helping them brown.

The step that matters

Frying the fritters at the right heat. If the pan is not hot enough when the batter goes in, the fritters absorb fat and turn greasy instead of setting and browning. Waiting until the butter has melted and begins to froth helps ensure a crisp, light brown exterior.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, flour):

  1. Capersfits about as well
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Jalapenofits about as well
  4. Parsleyfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, flour. 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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