Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 ↓
Baked Oysters
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Wash and drain the oysters by laying them on a soft cloth.
Place 5 or 6 oysters on their shells and season with coarse sea salt and a dash of red pepper.
Cut butter into small bits and sprinkle on top of the oysters.
Break the lobster into small pieces and cover the oysters with them.
Bake and serve
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes or until the oysters are thoroughly heated.
Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Oyster + lobstertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together255 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oysters
- Form the main body of the dish and become tender and savoury when heated.
- Lobster
- Adds a rich, sweet seafood flavour and covers the oysters during baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat that melts over the oysters, keeping them moist and adding richness.
The step that matters
Baking until thoroughly heated. Oysters cook quickly once hot. Overbaking toughens their texture and shrinks them, while underbaking leaves them unsafe to eat, so watch them closely.
“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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