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Lobster and Crab Farcee

A farce made from boiled lobster or crab, onion, butter, flour, milk or cream, pepper, and salt, baked in an oven.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.) · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 4 ingredients
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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 ↓

Lobster and Crab Farcee

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Take the shell off a boiled lobster or crab carefully.

  2. Chop a piece of onion finely with a little butter.

Make the farce

  1. When it is partly fried, add a teaspoonful of flour.

  2. Chop the lobster finely, put it in the pan and stir until partly fried.

  3. Add ½ pint of milk or cream, and stir again.

  4. Stir frequently to keep it from burning.

  5. Add pepper and salt.

Bake and serve

  1. Lay the pieces of shell in a pan, fill them with the mixture, and bake in an oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

505Calories
14 gProtein
1 gFat
106 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 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.

By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

  1. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together32,460 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Lobster or crab (in the method)
Forms the main filling, providing the seafood flavour and tender meaty texture.
Milk or cream (in the method)
Adds moisture and a smooth, creamy body to the filling.
Flour
Thickens the liquid so the filling holds together rather than running.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it fries, adding aromatic depth to the filling.

The step that matters

Stirring while the mixture cooks. Flour and milk can scorch on the bottom of the pan if left still, giving a burnt taste. Constant stirring keeps heat even and the sauce smooth and thickened.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper):

  1. Arrowrootfits better
  2. Okrafits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. 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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