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Kidneys on Toast

Kidneys on Toast is a dish of sautéed sheep kidneys served on buttered toast.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Kidneys on Toast

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the kidneys

  1. Wash the kidneys, dry them, and cut out the fat.

  2. Chop the kidneys into small pieces.

Cook and serve

  1. In a frying pan, heat 1 oz. of butter until very hot.

  2. Add the chopped kidneys and toss for 3-4 minutes until they lose their red color.

  3. Beat the yolk of the egg with pepper, salt, and vinegar.

  4. Add the egg mixture to the kidneys and stir well.

  5. Serve the mixture on hot buttered toast.

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. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,513 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

  5. Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Egg and vinegar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 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

Sheep's kidneys
Provide the main meat, whose texture turns firm and tender when tossed in hot butter.
Butter
Carries heat into the kidneys and adds richness and a browned, buttery flavour.
Egg
Yolk is beaten in and stirred through, binding the mixture into a creamy, coating sauce.
Vinegar
Adds a small amount of acidity that sharpens the rich kidneys and egg.

The step that matters

Toss the kidneys in very hot butter until they lose their red color. If the pan is not hot enough, the kidneys release liquid and steam rather than searing, leaving them grey, tough, and watery. Tossing over high heat browns the surface and cooks the meat quickly and evenly.

“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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