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Cheese Custards in Shells

A custard filling of eggs, milk, Parmesan, and spices baked in shells with herring crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: White pepper and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,375 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Cheese Custards in Shells

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the herring

  1. Boil the red herring for 5 minutes.

  2. Cut off the head and tail, skin the herring, and remove the bones.

  3. Pound the herring in a mortar with a few drops of cochineal to color it.

  4. Pass the mixture through a wire sieve using a wooden spoon.

  5. Dry the sifted mixture on the stove.

Make the custard

  1. Whisk together the eggs and milk to make a custard.

  2. Add the grated Parmesan, white pepper, and nutmeg to the custard.

Assemble and serve

  1. Fill the shells with the custard.

  2. Sprinkle the red herring crumbs on top.

  3. Warm in the oven and serve hot.

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. White pepper + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,375 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Milk + parmesan cheesetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,608 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,685 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together24,744 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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

Eggs
Set the custard as they cook, giving it structure and a firm, sliceable body.
Milk
Adds moisture and softness, diluting the eggs so the custard stays tender.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory, salty flavor and fat, and helps the custard brown lightly.
Red herring
Provides the main fish flavor and, once dried into crumbs, a crisp, savory topping.

The step that matters

Warm in the oven without overcooking the custard. Eggs set when heated, and past that point they turn rubbery and weep liquid. Warming gently just until the custard is set keeps it smooth and tender.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, parmesan cheese, nutmeg):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Clovefits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, parmesan cheese, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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