Why it works: Mushroom and lobster work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and 178 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Cook the mushrooms in butter for five minutes. Season with a few drops of onion juice.
Add flour and cream, stirring to combine.
Fold in the diced lobster meat. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
Stir in sherry and serve.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Mushroom + lobstertop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together178 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Mushroom + sherrytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,176 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).
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Mushroom + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together12,516 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Cream + lobstertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mushrooms
- Provide earthy flavour and bulk, softening as they cook in butter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavour while cooking the mushrooms.
- Flour
- Thickens the cream into a smooth, cohesive sauce.
- Cream
- Forms the body of the sauce and adds richness and moisture.
- Lobster meat
- Supplies the main seafood flavour and tender texture.
The step that matters
Adding the flour and cream. Stir the flour and cream together well so the flour dissolves evenly; lumps form when flour is not fully dispersed, leaving a grainy sauce instead of a smooth one.
“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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