Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Eggs with Oysters
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
Cut the oysters into four pieces.
Beat the eggs in a bowl.
Add the oyster liquor, parsley, pepper, and coarse sea salt to the eggs and mix well.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered dish.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C) for about ten minutes.
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.
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Egg + oystertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,103 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,765 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,663 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Oyster + parsleytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,211 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set to form the body of the dish as they cook.
- Oysters
- Provide the main flavor and tender bites within the set eggs.
- Oyster liquor
- Adds briny flavor and moisture to the egg mixture.
The step that matters
Bake in a preheated oven for about ten minutes. Eggs turn from tender to rubbery when overcooked, since their proteins tighten under high heat. Pulling the dish once just set keeps the custard soft and moist.
“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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