Why it works: Egg and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Lobster Omelet
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
In a bowl, beat the eggs with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Cook the omelette
Add the chopped lobster to the skillet and sauté for 2 minutes.
Pour the beaten eggs over the lobster and cook until set, folding gently.
Serve hot.
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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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Lobster + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,247 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into a tender structure that holds the omelette together as it cooks.
- Lobsters
- Provide the main filling, adding sweet, delicate flavor and tender texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor, and helps keep the eggs from sticking to the skillet.
The step that matters
Folding the eggs over the lobster. Eggs cook quickly on contact with heat and turn rubbery if overcooked. Stopping once the eggs are just set keeps them tender and moist.
“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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