Name: Scallops a LA Newburg
Ingredients: 1 cup thin cream or rich milk; 2 egg yolks; a few drops of Tabasco sauce; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 2 tablespoons port or sherry; salt and pepper to taste; 1 pint scallops; flour as needed

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 ↓

Scallops a LA Newburg

Ingredients

Directions

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add flour to make a roux, then gradually stir in the cream and milk until smooth.
Add the scallops, Worcestershire sauce, port or sherry, salt, and pepper.
Heat thoroughly, then stir in the beaten egg yolks until the sauce thickens.
If the sauce is too thin, mix a little more flour with cold milk and add another egg.
If desired, add wine last before serving.

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.

Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,787 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce + scalloptop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together130 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,505 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 and add richness as they set gently with heat.
Butter: Forms the fat base of the roux and adds richness to the sauce.
Flour: Thickens the cream and milk into a smooth, stable sauce through the roux.
Cream or milk: Provides the liquid body and creamy texture of the sauce.
Scallops: Provide the main seafood flavor and tender texture in the sauce.

The step that matters

Stir in the egg yolks after heating. Egg yolks thicken by gentle heat and can curdle or turn grainy if the sauce boils. Keep the heat moderate once they are added so the sauce thickens smoothly.

“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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Scallops a LA Newburg