Name: Oysters in Shells or Ramquin Dishes
Ingredients: Oysters; 2 egg yolks; Butter (for greasing and for crumbs); 2 tablespoons bread crumbs; 1 tablespoon butter (for crumbs)

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 ↓

Oysters in Shells or Ramquin Dishes

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

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.

Cook the oysters and prepare the sauce as for Creamed Oysters.
Remove the sauce from the heat, add the oysters and the beaten egg yolks.
Butter the shells or dishes and fill them about two-thirds full with the mixture.
Cover the top with buttered bread crumbs.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for five minutes, or until the crumbs are brown.
To make buttered crumbs, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs, and stir until combined.

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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,184 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Oyster + breadtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,545 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together22,662 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Oyster + eggtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,103 recipes

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