Why it works: Sugar and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,147 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Oyster-plants Stewed
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrape the oyster plants and place them in a bowl of cold water mixed with vinegar.
Cut the oyster plants into half-inch lengths or lengthwise into four pieces, then cut into three-inch lengths.
Cook and serve
Bring water to a boil, adding salt and sugar.
Add the oyster plants to the boiling water and cook until tender.
Drain the oyster plants and mix them with white sauce.
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.
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Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,147 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Oyster + saucetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,233 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Vinegar + saucetop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,844 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Oyster + vinegartop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,024 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oyster plants
- Provide the main body and mild flavor of the dish, becoming tender when simmered.
- White sauce
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the cooked pieces with a creamy texture.
“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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