Why it works: Mustard and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Lobster Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the coral
Put the coral and spawn of a boiled lobster into a mortar with a tablespoonful of butter; pound it to a smooth mass, then rub it through a sieve.
Make the sauce
Melt nearly a quarter of a pound of sweet butter, with a wine-glass of water or vinegar.
Add a teaspoonful of made mustard, stir in the coral and spawn, and a little salt and pepper.
Stir it until it is smooth and serve.
Some of the meat of the lobster may be chopped fine and stirred into it.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Butter + mustardtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,003 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Provides richness and fat, forming the body of the sauce as it melts and cools.
- Lobster coral and spawn (in the method)
- Adds colour and concentrated lobster flavour to the butter.
- Made mustard
- Adds sharpness and helps bind the butter and coral into a smoother sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the rich butter and thins the sauce.
The step that matters
Stir the sauce until smooth. Melted butter can separate and look greasy. Mustard and the coral help emulsify the fat with the liquid, so stirring steadily while the sauce is warm keeps it smooth and cohesive rather than broken.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cabbagefits less well
- Onionfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, vinegar, pepper. 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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