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Stuffed Cucumbers

Cucumbers stuffed with shrimp, onions, herbs, bread crumbs, and eggs, then baked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Stuffed Cucumbers

Why it works: Cucumber and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,050 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Stuffed Cucumbers

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Parboil the cucumbers, drain, and slice them in half.

  2. Scoop out the pulp carefully, avoiding breaking the skins.

  3. Dice the onions, and finely chop the parsley and thyme, along with the shrimp.

Make the filling

  1. Brown the onions in a little lard, then add the parsley, thyme, and shrimp.

  2. Mix in the bread crumbs and remove from heat.

  3. Beat the eggs, then add salt and pepper to the mixture.

Fill and bake

  1. Fill the cucumber skins with the mixture, sprinkle the tops with bread crumbs, and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Cucumber + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Cucumber + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,991 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Shrimp + oniontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Cucumbers
Form the edible shells that hold the filling during baking.
Shrimp
Supply the main seafood flavor and bulk to the filling.
Eggs
Bind the filling so it holds its shape inside the shells.
Onions
Add sweetness and aroma once browned in lard.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and give the filling body, plus a browned top.

The step that matters

Scooping out the pulp without breaking the skins. Cucumber skins are thin and tear easily. An intact shell is needed to hold the filling, and a torn skin lets the filling leak and lose its shape while baking.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, shrimp, egg, bread, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Chivefits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, shrimp, egg, bread, pepper. 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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