Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Stuffed Crabs
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the crabs
Cook the crabs for 20 minutes.
When cold, cut them in two parts, clean the shells well and keep.
Take out and hash the meat.
Make the sauce
Make béchamel sauce: melt 2 oz butter, stir in 1 tablespoon flour, add 1 pt milk, cook until thick; add 1 onion hashed fine, fry in butter; add cayenne pepper, mustard, spices, nutmeg.
Cook the crabs in this sauce for 10 minutes, add crumbs, and thicken with yolks of eggs.
Beat a yolk of egg with a teaspoon of water, turn it into the sauce.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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.
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.
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Flour + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms a roux with the butter that thickens the béchamel sauce.
- Onion
- Adds savoury flavour to the sauce as it softens in butter.
- Egg yolks (in the method)
- Thicken the sauce and add richness as they set gently with heat.
The step that matters
Thickening the sauce with egg yolks. Egg yolks set when heated, so if the sauce is too hot when they go in they can scramble and curdle. Add them gradually and keep the sauce below a simmer so it thickens smoothly.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Okrafits better
- Spinachfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, 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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