Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Deviled Crabs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Boil the crabs for 15 minutes.
Chop the crab meat.
In a bowl, combine the crab meat, bread crumbs, cream, egg yolks, butter, pepper, and salt. Mix well.
Fill and bake
Fill the crab shells with the mixture.
Sprinkle the tops with fine bread crumbs and small bits of butter.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven 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.
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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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Crab + creamtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together317 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Crab + buttertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together812 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Crab
- Forms the main body of the filling and gives the dish its seafood flavor.
- Stale bread crumbs
- Absorb the cream and butter, helping the filling hold together without becoming runny.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the filling soft during baking.
- Hard boiled egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the filling as it sets in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor, and helps the topping brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Bake until browned. Baking at the stated heat sets the egg yolks and bread crumbs into a firm filling and browns the topping. Underbaking leaves the filling loose, while overbaking can dry it 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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