Why it works: Parsley and pepper 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 ↓
Minced Oysters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mixture
Chop the oysters finely.
In a bowl, combine the chopped oysters, parsley, butter, black pepper, and beaten eggs.
Add enough crushed crackers to form a mixture that can be rolled into balls.
Fry
Heat lard in a pan until boiling.
Fry the balls quickly in the boiling lard until golden brown.
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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Parsley + peppertop 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 + eggtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,103 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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 the bulk of the filling.
- Eggs
- Bind the chopped oysters together so the mixture holds its shape.
- Crackers
- Absorb moisture and give the mixture body so it can be rolled into balls.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that carries flavour through the filling.
The step that matters
Fry the balls quickly in the boiling lard. The lard must be at a full boil before the balls go in. Hot fat sets the egg and cracker coating quickly and browns the outside, while a cooler pan lets the balls soak up grease and fall apart.
“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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