Why it works: Anchovy and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,330 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Scotch Woodcock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the toast
Spread anchovy paste thickly on one side of the toast.
Place the toast on a hot dish and cover to keep warm.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, beat the egg yolks and stir in the hot cream.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
Serve
Pour the sauce over the toast and serve hot.
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.
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Anchovy + eggtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Anchovy + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together798 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Anchovy + peppertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,232 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce as they set with gentle heat and add richness.
- Hot cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture to the sauce.
- Anchovy paste
- Adds a salty, savory flavor that contrasts with the rich sauce.
The step that matters
Cook the sauce over medium heat until it thickens. Egg yolks thicken by gently setting as they heat. If the heat is too high or the sauce is overcooked, the yolks can scramble and turn grainy instead of smooth. Stirring keeps the heat even.
“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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