Why it works: Butter and milk match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,222 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Oysters a LA Newburg
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Drain the liquor from the oysters.
Cook the oysters
In a very hot pan, add the oysters, butter, salt, and pepper.
Stir until the oysters curl.
Finish and serve
Quickly add the beaten egg yolk mixed with milk or cream.
Stir well, but do not let the mixture boil.
Serve on squares of toast.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Oyster + eggtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,093 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Oyster + buttertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,175 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Milk + sherrytop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Butter + sherrytop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oysters
- Are the main component, cooked briefly until they curl so they stay tender.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, helping the oysters cook gently in the hot pan.
- Egg yolk
- Thickens the milk or cream into a smooth, creamy sauce when gently heated.
- Milk or cream
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding moisture and a soft, rich texture.
- Sherry
- Adds a light sweetness and aroma to the sauce.
The step that matters
Do not let the mixture boil. Egg yolk thickens gently with heat, but boiling can curdle it and make the sauce grainy instead of smooth.
“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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