Why it works: Anchovy and ketchup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 479 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Oysters in Scallop Shells
Ingredients
Directions
Melt butter in a stewpan.
Add enough fine breadcrumbs to absorb the butter.
Pour in the oyster liquor and bring to a boil.
Butter scallop shells and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Layer oysters and breadcrumbs in the shells, moistening with oyster liquor.
Top with breadcrumbs and small bits of butter.
Brown in a Dutch oven.
Add optional spices for extra flavor if desired.
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.
-
Anchovy + ketchuptop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together479 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Oyster + anchovytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together603 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + oystertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Butter + anchovytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Oyster + ketchuptop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together318 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
Mock Oyster Soup21 recipes
Corn Fritters6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes