Name: Oyster Cocktails
Ingredients: 3 teaspoons each of vinegar; six teaspoons of lemon juice; 1/2 doz; 6 plates mix 3 teaspoons each of vinegar

Why it works: Vinegar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,334 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Oyster Cocktails

Ingredients

3 teaspoons each of vinegar
six teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 doz
6 plates mix 3 teaspoons each of vinegar

Directions

Prepare the sauce

For 6 plates, mix 3 teaspoons each of vinegar, grated horseradish, and tomato ketchup.
Add six teaspoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce.

Assemble and serve

Use a small oyster for each person, ½ dozen per person.
Chill the glasses and place them on a plate with a spoon and an oyster fork.
Place oysters in small glasses.
Pour the sauce over the oysters and serve.
Serve thin slices of buttered brown bread with the oysters.
Some persons prefer cocktails as a finale. They can also be served on individual blocks of ice, with the center melted out with a hot poker.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

15Calories

0 gProtein

0 gFat

4 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 2 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3

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

By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.). 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.

Vinegar + lemontop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,334 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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, served raw in the glass with the sauce poured over them.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Vinegar: Adds sharp acidity to the sauce, cutting through the brininess of the oysters.
Tomato ketchup (in the method): Adds sweetness and body to the sauce.

“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.