Name: Pickled Oysters
Ingredients: oysters; vinegar; whole allspice

Why it works: Vinegar and allspice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,548 recipes. Both carry 2-methylbutyl acetate, which smells fruit. The science ↓

Pickled Oysters

Ingredients

oysters
vinegar
whole allspice

Directions

Drain the liquor from the oysters.
Scald the liquor and skim it until clear.
Scald the oysters in the liquor until they begin to shrivel.
Skim the oysters out.
Add vinegar and whole allspice to taste.
Let the mixture scald and pour it over the oysters.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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 + allspicetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,548 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
Oyster + allspicetop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together258 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Oyster + vinegartop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,024 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).