Oyster Toast

A creamed-oyster toast that leans on a companion stew recipe for its method, so the whole thing rests on a few assumptions the original never spells out. Everything here is quick; the only real risk is overcooking.

• "One glass of milk"A glass in household recipes of this period is usually taken to mean a tumbler, roughly a half-pint or about 1 cup, though the term is not standardised. The instruction reads as a restriction: the stew version would use more, and here the sauce is meant to be thick enough to sit on toast rather than soak it away.
• "Prepare as for oyster stew"The companion recipe is not reproduced here, so the method has to be inferred: shucked oysters with their liquor, warmed in the milk until the edges just ruffle. Most stew recipes of the type keep the liquor, and it carries much of the flavour; without it the dish tastes largely of milk and flour.
• Three minutes is the ceilingThe original says to boil for three minutes, but oysters firm up almost immediately and toughen with extended cooking, so a bare simmer is safer than a rolling boil. Slip the oysters into the hot milk and count the time from when their edges curl.
• The flour slurryOne tablespoon of flour dissolved in cold milk into roughly a cup of liquid gives a thin, cloaking sauce. Stir it in steadily and give it a minute or two of gentle heat to lose the raw-flour taste, off the boil.
• "A piece of butter"Read this as about a tablespoon, stirred in at the end so it emulsifies rather than fries. Salt is not mentioned but is needed; oyster liquor is salty, so season after the liquor goes in.
• The toastThe recipe specifies only "toast." A firm bread cut thick and toasted dry will hold a wet sauce better than a thin or buttered slice.
• Lemon lastThe juice goes on before serving rather than during cooking, which suits the sauce: acid stirred into hot milk can curdle it. Squeeze over the plated oysters.
• YieldA dozen oysters and a cup of milk serves two as a light supper or first course.