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Mock Terrapin

A dish of seasoned liver mixed with mustard, cayenne, eggs, butter, and water, simmered briefly.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,430 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Mock Terrapin

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the liver

  1. Season and fry the liver until brown.

  2. Hash the liver, but not too finely.

  3. Flour the liver thickly.

Make the sauce

  1. Add the mustard, cayenne pepper, chopped eggs, butter, and water.

  2. Let it boil for 1-2 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.

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. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

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

  2. Liver + mustardtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together132 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Liver + buttertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Liver + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,375 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

Calf's liver
Forms the meaty base and gives the dish its main texture.
Hard boiled eggs
Add body and richness to the chopped mixture.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth mouthfeel.
Mixed mustard
Adds a sharp, tangy flavour that cuts the richness of the liver and butter.

The step that matters

Let it boil for 1-2 minutes. A brief boil lets the mixture heat through and combine evenly. Boiling much longer can over-thicken the mixture and dry it out, so watch it closely.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (liver, pepper, egg, butter):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits about as well
  3. Chivefits about as well
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against liver, pepper, egg, butter. 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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