Why it works: Allspice and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Deviled Oysters
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the oysters
Drain the oysters and add the allspice.
Simmer over heat until the edges of the oysters curl.
Drain and let the oysters cool, then chop them finely.
Season the chopped oysters with cayenne pepper and salt.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, combine butter, cream, and enough flour to thicken into a sauce.
Add the oysters to the sauce and let it cool.
Fill and bake
Fill the oyster shells with the mixture, cover with bread crumbs, and place a small piece of butter on each.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until browned.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Oysters
- Provide the main filling and their briny, savoury flavour.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, and browns the topping in the oven.
- Rich cream
- Adds moisture and body to the filling, carrying the sauce together.
- Flour
- Thickens the cream and butter into a sauce that holds the filling together.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned topping over the filling.
The step that matters
Let the sauce cool before adding the oysters. Flour thickens as the sauce cools, so a sauce still hot can stay too thin or curdle when the oysters are stirred in. Letting it cool first gives a filling that holds together in the shells.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oyster, pepper, butter, cream, flour, bread):
- Nutmegfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Capersfits better
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against oyster, pepper, butter, cream, flour, bread. 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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