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Scotch Woodcock

A toasted bread topped with anchovy paste and a creamy egg yolk mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Scotch Woodcock

Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Scotch Woodcock

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Spread the toast lightly with butter and keep it warm.

  2. Beat the egg yolks slightly, then gradually add the cream and mix well.

Make the custard

  1. Stir the mixture over hot water until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise.

  2. Add the salt and cayenne pepper to the mixture.

Assemble and serve

  1. Spread the toast quickly with anchovy paste and cover with the cooked mixture.

  2. Serve immediately.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

  2. Egg + anchovytop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,330 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Anchovy + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,697 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Cream + anchovytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together798 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

  5. Pepper + anchovytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Thicken as they gently cook, giving the topping a smooth, rich, spreadable texture.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, softening the egg mixture into a creamy topping.
Anchovy paste
Adds a salty, savoury flavour that contrasts with the rich egg topping.
Toast
Provides a crisp, absorbent base that holds the creamy topping.

The step that matters

Stir the mixture over hot water until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise. Egg yolks thicken when heated gently, but too much heat can scramble them into lumps. Gentle, constant stirring over hot water cooks the yolks evenly into a smooth sauce.

“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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