Why it works: Oyster and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,184 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Omelet with Oysters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Beat the eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Cook the omelette
Add the beaten eggs and cook until they begin to set.
Add the oysters to one half of the omelet.
Fold the omelet over the oysters and cook until fully set.
Serve hot.
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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Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Egg + oystertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,103 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,663 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into the structure of the omelette as they cook, holding it together around the filling.
- Oysters
- Provide the main filling, adding savoury, briny flavour and a tender texture inside the folded eggs.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavour and keeps the eggs from sticking to the skillet.
The step that matters
Fold the omelet over the oysters and cook until fully set. Eggs turn tough and rubbery when overcooked at high heat, so cook gently over medium heat until just set. Oysters also cook quickly, so keeping the heat moderate stops both from toughening.
“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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