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Devilled Oysters

Oysters coated in mustard, egg yolk, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs, then broiled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,430 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Devilled Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Drain, clean, and dry the oysters.

  2. Mix egg yolks, mustard, salt, and pepper to form a paste.

Coat and cook

  1. Coat the oysters in the paste, then roll them in bread crumbs.

  2. Broil the oysters over a clear fire until golden.

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. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Oyster + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,545 recipes

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

  3. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Oyster + eggtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,103 recipes

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

  5. Mustard + breadtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,484 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Oysters
Provide the main body of the dish, cooked until heated through and tender.
Egg yolks
Bind the mustard and seasonings into a paste that clings to the oysters.
Mustard
Adds sharp, tangy flavor that contrasts with the rich yolk and oysters.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp outer coating that browns under the heat.

The step that matters

Broil the oysters over a clear fire until golden. Oysters cook quickly and can turn rubbery if overheated. Watching for golden color and removing them promptly keeps them tender while the crumb coating browns.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oyster, pepper, egg, bread):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Cucumberfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against oyster, pepper, egg, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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