Why it works: Butter and lobster are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,609 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
The recipe
8 personsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Make the base
Boil lobster for 25 minutes.
Then pick meat from shells and cut into pieces.
Melt butter and stir in flour until yellow, not brown.
Add cream; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Boil until thick, stirring constantly.
Chill and fill
Remove from heat, add lobster or crab meat, and chill on ice for 2 or 3 hours.
Butter ramekins before filling.
Fill ramekins with mixture, sprinkle with bread or cracker crumbs, and small lumps of butter over them.
Bake and serve
Bake until brown, about 20 minutes, in a warm oven.
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + lobstertop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + flourtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + peppertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together85,512 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Flour + peppertop 13% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together49,477 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Lobster + flourtop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,033 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobsters
- Provides the main protein and the sweet, tender meat that gives the farce its body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor to the sauce and helps the crumb topping brown.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch cooks in the melted butter.
The step that matters
Boil the sauce until thick, stirring constantly. Flour starch only thickens fully once it has cooked in the hot liquid. Constant stirring spreads heat evenly, prevents lumps, and stops the bottom from scorching before the sauce sets.
“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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