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 ↓
Oyster Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dish
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Line a large round dish with a thin layer of pastry, building up the edges with 1 or 2 extra layers.
Drain the oysters and ensure they are free from shell and grit.
Finely chop the hard-boiled eggs and set aside.
Make the filling
In a saucepan, combine the oysters and butter mixed with flour over heat.
Add the spices, salt, and pepper, then stir well.
Pour in 1 pint of strained, boiling oyster liquor and stir until smooth.
After 5 minutes, pour the oysters into the dish.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs and chopped eggs on top.
Top and bake
Cover the dish with a pastry lid rolled about 1 inch thick.
Trim and notch the edges neatly.
Cut a hole in the center of the pastry lid.
Roll a small piece of pastry and notch it crosswise.
Bake it on a separate tin.
Optionally, cut out pastry leaves to arrange on top of the pie.
Bake the pie for 30 to 40 minutes, ensuring even baking.
Finish and serve
Boil some of the remaining oyster liquor.
When the pie is done, pour the hot liquor through the hole in the top.
Place the pastry rose over the hole.
Serve.
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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 + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,545 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they 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
- Form the main filling and provide the briny, savory flavor of the pie.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind and set the filling.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and oyster liquor into a smooth sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the sauce and carries the flour's thickening.
- Stale bread
- Soaks up liquid and adds body to the filling as crumbs.
The step that matters
Pour in the boiling oyster liquor and stir until smooth. Flour thickens only when heated in liquid and stirred, so adding the liquor boiling and stirring steadily prevents lumps and gives a smooth, cohesive sauce rather than a floury or grainy filling.
“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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