Why it works: Oyster and fish work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 496 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Oyster Soup, French Way
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
Make the fish stock by boiling a 5-pound fish or some eels in plain broth with a head of celery, parsley, salt, white pepper, wine, and anchovies.
While boiling, pour a few ladlefuls into the oysters.
Drain the oysters in a colander.
Add the liquor to the stock.
After boiling for about 45 minutes, strain the stock into another kettle.
Finish the soup
Add a little thickening (roux).
Let it boil.
Skim it.
Add the oysters.
Beat the yolks and cream together.
Stir them in.
Remove the kettle from heat.
Stir until the soup is smooth and creamy, being careful not to let it boil.
Taste for seasoning.
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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Oyster + fishtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together496 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Fish + white winetop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together370 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Oyster + eggtop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,103 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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White wine + peppertop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Oyster + white winetop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together518 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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 body of the soup, releasing their liquor into the stock.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and thicken the soup into a smooth, creamy texture when gently heated.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel that softens the broth.
- Thickening (roux)
- Thickens the stock so the soup has body and clings to the spoon.
- Fish stock
- Forms the savoury liquid base that carries all the other flavours.
The step that matters
Adding the egg yolks and cream. Egg yolks thicken by gentle heat; if the soup boils after they are stirred in, the proteins scramble and the soup turns grainy and curdled.
“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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