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Scallop with Eggs

A baked casserole of veal or lamb with eggs, topped with crackers or bread crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 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 ↓

Scallop with Eggs

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Butter a shallow baking dish.

  3. Layer 1 cup of crackers or bread crumbs in the bottom.

Assemble and bake

  1. Add 2 cups of chopped cold veal or lamb, seasoning with salt, pepper, and bits of butter.

  2. Moisten with 1 cup of gravy, milk, or cream.

  3. Top with another layer of 1 cup of crackers or bread crumbs.

  4. Cover and bake until the gravy bubbles up through the surface.

  5. Remove the cover and crack 4 eggs on top, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a bit of butter.

  6. Bake until the egg whites are set.

  7. Serve in the baking dish.

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 + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  3. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  4. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

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

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set into a custardy layer that binds the dish and gives it structure when baked.
Crackers or bread crumbs
Form the base and topping layers that soak up moisture and hold the meat in place.
Veal or lamb
Provides the main meat filling that is bound and warmed through in the dish.
Gravy, milk, or cream
Moistens the filling so it stays tender and bakes without drying out.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, helping flavor and browning across the dish.

The step that matters

Bake until the egg whites are set. Egg whites set at around 140–180°F, so underbaking leaves them runny while overbaking makes the eggs rubbery and dry. Watch for firm whites with soft yolks if you want a tender result.

“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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