Why it works: Lettuce and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,580 recipes. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓
Lobster Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the lobster
Plunge the lobster head downwards into boiling salted water for 25 minutes if medium size, or 30 minutes if large.
Remove the lobster from the boiling water.
Place the lobster in cold water for 1 minute.
Break the shell and crack the claws.
Remove the sand bag, entrail, and spongy parts.
Save the coral, any eggs, and the green and white fat.
Assemble the salad
Cut the lobster into dice or tear it with two forks.
Pour just enough French dressing or mayonnaise to moisten and season the lobster.
Lay crisp lettuce leaves or celery in a dish.
Add the lobster and the green and white fat to the dish.
Pour mayonnaise over the lobster.
Garnish with olives and lobster claws.
Sprinkle the eggs over the salad dressing.
If no eggs are available, use chopped coral instead.
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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Lettuce + olivetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,580 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Lobster + lettucetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together411 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Lobster + olivetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together252 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Lobster + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,484 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Lettuce + eggtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,301 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Live hen lobster
- Provides the main meat, which turns firm and opaque when boiled.
- French dressing or mayonnaise
- Moistens the lobster and adds fat and seasoning to the salad.
- Crisp white lettuce leaves or celery
- Adds crunch and a cool, watery texture beneath the lobster.
The step that matters
Boiling the lobster for the stated time. Boiling for the full time sets the proteins so the meat turns firm and opaque. Too short leaves it soft and translucent, while too long makes it tough and rubbery.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, olive, egg):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, olive, egg. 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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