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Florida Style Crab Cakes

A seafood patty made with lump crab meat, mayonnaise, seasonings, and breadcrumbs, pan‑fried until golden.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Coriander and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,536 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Florida Style Crab Cakes

5 crab cakes
Total1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Combine Florida Bay seasoning, mayonnaise, egg, mustard, cayenne, chives, cilantro, coriander, and lime juice in a large mixing bowl.

  2. Season to taste with white pepper and kosher salt.

  3. Fold in the bread crumbs and crab meat as gently as possible, trying to avoid breaking up the lumps.

  4. Rest mixture in the refrigerator ½ to 2 hours.

  5. Divide and shape into 5 patties.

Cook

  1. Heat butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan over medium‑high heat.

  2. Cook the crab cakes in the butter about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown on both sides.

  3. Lower heat to medium and cook until the cakes are hot but still moist on the inside, about an additional 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

762Calories
44 gProtein
19 gFat
102 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Shrimp100g cooked99
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Chives1 tbsp (3g)1
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Coriandernot in our table0
Meatnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Coriander + limetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Mustard + chivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together587 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Chive + limetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together139 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Mustard + limetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together392 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Mustard + coriandertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together967 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Lump crab meat
Forms the main body of the cakes and gives them their sweet, delicate flavor.
Egg
Binds the mixture so the cakes hold together when shaped and cooked.
Mayonnaise
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the cakes tender rather than dry.
Bread crumbs
Absorbs liquid and helps the mixture hold its shape while cooking.
Butter
Browns the outside of the cakes and adds a rich, nutty flavor.

The step that matters

Folding in the crab meat. Stirring vigorously breaks up the lumps of crab, which makes the texture mushy and dense. Gentle folding keeps large pieces intact so the cakes stay tender and meaty.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, mustard, chive, coriander, lime, bread, crab):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, mustard, chive, coriander, lime, bread, crab. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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