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Scalloped Oysters

A baked oyster dish layered with crackers, breadcrumbs, butter, milk, and egg.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Scalloped Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Layer rolled crackers in a buttered pudding dish.

Layer and bake

  1. Add a layer of oysters, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and bits of butter.

  2. Moisten with a little oyster liquor mixed with milk.

  3. Repeat layers of bread crumbs and oysters until the dish is full, finishing with bread crumbs on top.

  4. Beat the egg into the milk and pour over the entire dish.

  5. Sprinkle with small bits of butter.

  6. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

  7. Remove the cover and brown the top before serving.

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.

  1. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  4. Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  5. Oyster + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,545 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Oysters
Provide the main filling and savory flavor of the dish.
Egg
Binds the milk mixture so it sets into a custard-like layer.
Milk
Forms a moist custard with the egg that soaks through the layers.
Rolled crackers
Absorb liquid and add structure to the layers.
Bread crumbs
Add texture and help form a golden topping.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the top brown.

The step that matters

Browning the top after covering. The cover traps moisture during the first baking, so the top stays pale and soft. Removing it and browning briefly lets the surface dry and turn golden, which adds flavor and texture.

“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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