Why it works: Mustard and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,430 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Terrapin, Philadelphia Style
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the terrapins
Boil the terrapins in water for 20 minutes. Discard the first boiling water to avoid strong taste.
Remove and skin the terrapins. Take off the toe-nails.
Boil the terrapins in fresh water for 2 hours or until the legs come off easily.
Remove the hind legs. Take out the sandbag. Take out the end of the alimentary canal. Break off the fore legs. Clean the head.
Cut up the entrails finely. Detach the eggs carefully. Have a bowl of cold water ready to wash the liver if the gall breaks.
Make the dressing and finish
Mix the egg yolks with butter, browned flour, mustard, and seasonings. Bring the dressing to a boil.
Add the terrapin while stirring to prevent scorching. Add the Sherry wine. Boil once more.
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.
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 + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the dressing and add richness as they set when heated.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour through the dressing.
- Browned flour
- Thickens the dressing and adds a nutty, toasted flavour.
- Mustard
- Adds sharpness that balances the richness of the yolks and butter.
- Sherry wine
- Adds acidity and aromatic depth to the finished dressing.
The step that matters
Adding the terrapin to the dressing while stirring. Egg yolks in a hot dressing can scorch or curdle on the bottom of the pan. Constant stirring spreads the heat and keeps the sauce smooth and thick.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, flour, pepper, sherry, wine):
- Shallotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Chivefits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, flour, pepper, sherry, wine. 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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