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Scalloped Scallops

A baked dish of scallops coated with buttered crumbs and cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Scalloped Scallops

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Wash and pick over the scallops.

  2. Mix the cracker crumbs with the melted butter.

Assemble

  1. In a buttered baking dish, place a layer of the crumb mixture.

  2. Cover with a layer of scallops, season with salt and pepper, and add half the cream.

  3. Repeat the layers, finishing with crumbs on top.

Bake

  1. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F (175°C).

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. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,964 recipes

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

  4. Scallop + breadtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together64 recipes

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

  5. Scallop + creamtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together38 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

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

What each ingredient does

Scallops
Provide the main protein, which turns tender and opaque as it cooks in the custard-like layers.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, helping the scallops stay juicy as the dish bakes.
Cracker crumbs
Form a crisp, absorbent base and top layer that soaks up butter and browns in the oven.
Melted butter
Coats the crumbs so they brown evenly and add fat for flavor and richness.

The step that matters

Layering the scallops with cream. Scallops are delicate and overcook quickly. Keeping them moist under cream and crumbs, and not baking longer than needed, prevents them from becoming rubbery.

“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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