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Oysters Au Gratin

A gratin of macaroni, gravy, oysters, Parmesan, butter, pepper, and sea salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Parmesan cheese and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,163 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Oysters Au Gratin

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Chop the macaroni and combine it with the gravy in a chafing dish.

  2. Cook for 15 minutes.

  3. Add the oysters, cheese, butter, and a little pepper and salt.

  4. Stir until the cheese is dissolved and serve immediately.

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. Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  3. Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,322 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,594 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Meat + oystertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Provides the bulk and chewy structure that holds the dish together.
Meat gravy
Supplies moisture and savoury flavour, letting the macaroni soften as it cooks.
Oysters
Add the main seafood flavour and a tender, briny texture when cooked gently.
Parmesan cheese
Melts into the sauce to add salty, savoury depth and a creamy body.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth mouthfeel in the sauce.

The step that matters

Adding the oysters and serving. Oysters are delicate and firm up and shrink when overheated. Adding them at the end, stirring only until the cheese melts, and serving right away keeps them plump and tender.

“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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