Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Woodcock Toast
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the liver paste
Pound the livers to a paste and mix with anchovy sauce, sugar, butter, egg yolk, and spiced pepper.
Pass the mixture through a sieve and set aside on a clean plate.
Make the toasts
Fry the bread slices until golden and crisp, then spread the liver paste over them.
Place the toasts in a 350°F (175°C) oven to keep warm.
Finish with the cream sauce
In a saucepan, heat the cream over low heat and stir in the strained egg yolks until thickened and hot, but not boiling.
Pour the cream sauce over the toasts and serve.
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.
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Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Anchovy + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,260 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
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Anchovy + eggtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Liver + anchovytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together199 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fowl's livers
- Provide the rich, smooth body of the spread once pounded and sieved.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky texture to the liver paste.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the cream sauce as they gently set with heat.
- Heavy cream
- Forms the base of the sauce, adding richness and a smooth, pourable body.
- Bread
- Provides a crisp, golden base that holds the liver paste.
The step that matters
Thickening the cream sauce. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat; if the cream boils or gets too hot, the yolks can scramble and turn grainy. Keeping the heat low and stirring steadily gives a smooth, lightly thickened sauce.
“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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