Why it works: Egg and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Scotch Woodcock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the anchovies
Split and bone the anchovies, then wash them and warm them by the fire.
Make the egg topping and serve
In a bowl, mix the eggs with the cream.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and stir continually over the heat until thick.
Add a little grated tongue on top before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Anchovies
- Provides the salty, savoury flavour that defines the dish.
- Eggs
- Set when heated, giving the mixture its thick, custard-like body.
- Cream
- Adds richness and softens the set eggs for a smoother texture.
The step that matters
Stirring the egg mixture over heat. Eggs thicken as their proteins set, but high or uneven heat can curdle them into lumps. Stirring continually spreads the heat evenly and keeps the mixture smooth as it thickens.
“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.
More scotch woodcock recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.