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Oyster Cocktail I

A chilled oyster cocktail with tomato ketchup, vinegar, Tabasco, celery, Worcestershire sauce, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fannie Merritt Farmer · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,377 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Oyster Cocktail I

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix the ingredients.

  2. Chill thoroughly.

  3. Serve in cocktail glasses, or in cases made from green peppers placed on a bed of crushed ice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

133Calories
12 gProtein
3 gFat
16 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Oyster6 medium (84g)81
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
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 Fannie Merritt Farmer. 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. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

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

  2. Oyster + saucetop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,469 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,063 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Vinegar + celerytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,627 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Oysters
The raw oysters are the base of the cocktail and provide its main texture and briny flavour.
Tomato catsup
Adds sweetness and a tomato tang that balances the sharpness of the sauce.
Vinegar or lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and cuts through the richness of the oysters.
Celery
Adds a crisp texture and a fresh, mildly vegetal aroma.
Worcestershire sauce
Adds savoury depth through fermented, salty flavour notes.

The step that matters

Chill thoroughly. Cold keeps raw oysters firm and fresh-tasting and slows bacterial growth. Chilling the sauce too lets the flavours meld and keeps the cocktail cool when served.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oyster, tomato, vinegar, sauce):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Garlicfits about as well
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against oyster, tomato, vinegar, sauce. 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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