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Fricasseed Oysters

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,979 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Fricasseed Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Soak the ham in boiling water for 30 minutes, then cut into small slices.

  2. In a saucepan, combine the ham, broth, oyster liquor, minced onion, parsley, sweet marjoram, and pepper.

  3. Simmer for 20 minutes, then boil rapidly for 2-3 minutes.

  4. Skim the mixture and add cornstarch mixed smoothly in the milk.

  5. Stir constantly until boiling, then add the oysters and butter.

  6. Once boiling, remove the oysters and place them in a deep dish.

  7. Beat the egg and gradually mix in some hot broth, then stir it into the mixture.

  8. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over the oysters. Add lemon juice if desired.

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.

  1. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Onion + marjoramtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,056 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, egg, milk, butter, ham, parsley, marjoram):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, egg, milk, butter, ham, parsley, marjoram. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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