Why it works: Nutmeg and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Potted Lobster
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the lobster
Parboil the lobster in boiling salted water.
Remove all the meat from the body and claws, and beat it in a mortar with nutmeg, mace, cayenne, and salt to taste.
Beat the coral separately.
Pot and bake
Layer the pounded meat and coral in a large potting can, pressing down hard for a marbled appearance.
Cover with fresh butter and place in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes.
Clarify the butter
Once cooled, remove the butter and clarify it by melting it in a jar set in boiling water.
Skim off the buttermilk that rises to the top until no more scum appears.
Let the clarified butter settle, then strain it through a sieve.
Seal the cans
Press the lobster into small potting cans and pour the clarified butter over it, securing the covers tightly.
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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Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Nutmeg + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Mace + buttertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,405 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Lobster + nutmegtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together458 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
Mace and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,405 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster
- Provides the main body of meat that is pounded and packed into the cans.
- Butter
- Covers the lobster and, once clarified, seals the cans against air.
- Coral (in the method)
- Adds rich flavour and colour to the pounded lobster meat.
The step that matters
Pressing the layers in the potting can. Pressing down hard packs the pounded meat and coral together, expelling air pockets so the potted lobster sets dense and keeps well under the butter seal.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, nutmeg, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, nutmeg, butter. 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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