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Clam or Oyster Fritters

Fried batter containing clams or oysters, served hot.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Clam or Oyster Fritters

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the batter

  1. Chop the clams or oysters finely.

  2. In a bowl, mix flour, eggs, milk, salt, and pepper to form a batter.

  3. Fold in the chopped clams or oysters.

Fry and drain

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

  2. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil.

  3. Fry until golden brown on both sides.

  4. Remove and drain on paper towels.

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. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Clam + milktop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together636 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  5. Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together50,459 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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

Clams or oysters
Provide the main seafood flavour and texture throughout the fritter.
Flour
Forms the batter structure that holds the fritter together while frying.
Eggs
Bind the batter and help it set firm as it cooks.
Milk
Adds moisture to the batter so it spreads and cooks through evenly.

The step that matters

Frying in hot oil over medium heat. If the oil is too cool, the batter soaks up grease and turns heavy; if too hot, the outside browns before the inside sets. Steady medium heat lets the centre cook while the surface turns golden.

“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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