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Scalloped Oysters

Scalloped oysters are baked oysters topped with breadcrumb and butter mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Oyster and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,184 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓

Scalloped Oysters

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. Rinse the oysters in cold water and remove any shell pieces.

  2. Strain the oyster juice through a cloth.

  3. Season the breadcrumbs with salt and cayenne, then mix in the melted butter.

Assemble and bake

  1. In a buttered baking dish, layer ¼ of the seasoned breadcrumbs.

  2. Add half of the oysters.

  3. Add another ¼ of the breadcrumbs.

  4. Add the remaining oysters.

  5. Add the oyster juice.

  6. Top with the remaining breadcrumbs.

  7. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 40 minutes.

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. Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  2. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,663 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

Oysters
Provide the main flavor and the tender, briny filling that gives the dish its character.
Breadcrumbs
Form the layered body of the dish and soak up butter and juice while baking.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the breadcrumbs brown as they bake.
Oyster juice
Adds moisture and concentrated oyster flavor to the crumbs during baking.

The step that matters

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 40 minutes. Oysters overcook quickly and turn rubbery when heated too long. Baking only until the crumbs are golden and the oysters are just cooked keeps them tender and juicy.

“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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