Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Lobster Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the filling
Chop the lobster very fine.
Mix the lobster with pepper, coarse sea salt, bread crumbs, and parsley.
Moisten the mixture with cream and a small piece of butter.
Shape and fry
Shape the mixture into croquettes using your hands.
Dip each croquette in beaten egg, then roll in bread crumbs.
Fry the croquettes until golden brown.
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.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lobster + creamtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster
- Provides the main flavor and the tender filling of the croquettes.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and give the filling body so it holds its shape.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the filling soft inside.
- Egg
- Binds the coating so the bread crumbs stick during frying.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor, and helps the filling stay moist.
The step that matters
Dip each croquette in beaten egg, then roll in bread crumbs.. The egg and crumb coating must be fully applied and sealed around the filling; any gaps let the mixture leak or break open in hot oil.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, pepper, bread, cream, butter, egg):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Capersfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, pepper, bread, cream, butter, 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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