Name: Chafing Dish Recipes
Ingredients: one pint of lobster meat cut into small pieces; 2 tablespoonfuls of melted butter; 2 teaspoons of brandy; 34 cup dried bread crumbs; one-half pound cheese; 1 tablespoon meltetl butter; 1 teaspoon mustard; one-half cup cream; 1 cup grated cream cheese; 1 tablespoon of butter; 2 tablespoons of flour; 3 tablespoons of bread crumbs; 2 tablespoons of sherry; 1 teaspoonful sugar; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 pint of toma- toes; 4 tablespoons of grated cheese in chafing dish; 1 cup of cheese; 1 cup of bread crumbs; 1 cup of milk; two cups of sugar; a pint of cream; a tablespoon of flour; a teaspoonful of dry mustard; a dash of cayenne pepper; a dash of paprika; a slice of onion; a piece of butter the size of an egg; a teaspoon of mustard; 2 table- spoons of butter

Why it works: Lobster and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,050 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

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.

Lobster + creamtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,050 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + cheesetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Egg yolks thicken the cream mixture into a smooth, rich sauce as it heats.
Butter: Melted into the flour paste, it adds richness and smooths the sauce.
Flour: Forms a smooth paste that helps thicken the sauce.
Cream: Provides the liquid base and a rich, moist texture.

The step that matters

Let it simmer a few minutes (do not boil). Egg yolks can curdle and turn grainy if they reach a boil, so the sauce should stay just below simmering once the yolks are added.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, meat, butter, brandy, bread, cheese, cream):

Potatofits about as well
Mustardthe original
Onionfits about as well
Asparagusfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, meat, butter, brandy, bread, cheese, cream. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Sardine	100g canned drained	208
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Bread	1 slice (30g) white	79
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Meat	not in our table	0
Brandy	not in our table	0

Chafing Dish Recipes