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Scalloped Oysters

A baked oyster dish layered with cracker crumbs, butter, egg, and milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Scalloped Oysters

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 deep baking dish.

Layer and bake

  1. Layer half of the cracker crumbs in the bottom of the dish and wet with some oyster liquor.

  2. Add a layer of oysters, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and dot with small bits of butter.

  3. Repeat the layers of cracker crumbs, oyster liquor, oysters, salt, pepper, and butter until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of cracker crumbs.

  4. Beat the egg in a cup of milk and pour it over the top.

  5. Cover the dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

  6. Uncover and place under the broiler to brown the top.

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

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

  2. Butter + oystertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

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

  3. Oyster + eggtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,103 recipes

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

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 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 tender, briny filling that cooks through during baking.
Fine cracker crumbs
Form the layers and soak up liquid to give the dish a soft, absorbent body.
Egg
Binds the milk custard so it sets lightly over the layers when baked.
Milk
Adds moisture and creaminess to the custard poured over the top.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the top brown under the broiler.

The step that matters

Covering the dish while baking. Keeping the lid on traps steam so the oysters cook gently and stay moist, while the crumbs and custard set. Uncovering only at the end lets the top brown without drying the filling.

“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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