Name: Lobster Cutlets
Ingredients: 1 pinch cayenne pepper; 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce; 2 handfuls moistened and pressed bread crumbs; 4 egg yolks; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; Butter for topping; Additional bread crumbs for sprinkling

Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Lobster Cutlets

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 handfuls moistened and pressed bread crumbs
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Butter for topping
Additional bread crumbs for sprinkling

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

In a saucepan, combine cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, and bread crumbs. Stir steadily while boiling for 5 minutes.
Add egg yolks, parsley, and lemon juice. Mix well.
Fill prepared shells with the mixture, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and top with small bits of butter.
Bake in a hot oven (400°F / 200°C) for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly brown.
Arrange on a folded napkin, garnish with quartered lemons, and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together22,662 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).