Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 41,516 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Oyster Soup, I
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Scald the oysters in their own liquor.
Strain the liquor and add it to the broth.
Thicken the broth with butter and flour.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the oysters, cream, and seasoning; stir well. Do not let it boil.
Serve
Serve very hot.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Mutton + oystertop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together317 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oysters
- Provide the main flavour and tender texture when scalded in their own liquor.
- Mutton broth
- Forms the liquid base that carries the soup's savoury flavour.
- Butter
- Enriches the broth and, with flour, helps thicken it smoothly.
- Flour
- Thickens the broth together with butter, giving it body.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, mellow texture to the finished soup.
The step that matters
Do not let it boil. Once the cream is added, boiling can curdle the dairy and toughen the oysters, leaving the soup grainy and rubbery. Keep it hot but below a boil.
“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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