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Fried Scallops

Fried scallops coated in cracker crumbs and cornmeal, served golden brown.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and corn work together. They rank in the top 27% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 927 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Fried Scallops

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Rinse the scallops thoroughly and dry them on a clean cloth.

  2. Dip the scallops in a little oil and vinegar.

Coat

  1. Roll the scallops in cracker crumbs, then dip again in oil and vinegar.

  2. Coat the scallops in yellow corn meal.

Fry

  1. Fry in deep hot oil until golden brown.

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. Vinegar + corntop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together927 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Scallop + vinegartop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Scallop + corntop 38% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Scallops
Form the main body of the dish, cooking to tender and sweet inside a crisp coating.
Cracker crumbs
Form a crisp, browned coating that adds crunch and texture to the outside.
Yellow corn meal
Adds a gritty, crisp outer layer that browns well when fried.
Vinegar
Adds a sharp acidity that brightens the flavor of the scallops.

The step that matters

Fry in deep hot oil until golden brown. If the oil is not hot enough, the coating absorbs oil and turns greasy before it browns. Hot oil sets and crisps the crust quickly, keeping the scallops tender inside. Overcooking toughens scallops, so watch the colour closely.

“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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