Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Broiled Oysters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean the oysters and dry them with a towel.
Dip the oysters in melted butter, then coat with seasoned crumbs.
Broil and serve
Place the oysters in an oyster broiler and broil, turning often, until plump.
Serve garnished with parsley and lemon sections, or with bacon or on cream toast with oyster juice.
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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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oysters
- Main ingredient that turns plump and tender when broiled.
- Melted butter
- Carries the crumbs and adds richness and browning as it cooks.
- Very fine seasoned crumbs
- Form a light coating that helps the oysters brown and holds in moisture.
The step that matters
Broil until plump, turning often. Oysters cook quickly, and overcooking makes them tough and shrunken. Turning often exposes every side to heat so they cook evenly and the coating browns without drying out.
“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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