Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
15 Pepper-Pot Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a stewpan, combine milk and water with the red pepper and salt, then bring to a boil.
Cook and serve
Add the lobster and green inside if desired, along with the butter.
Boil for 10 minutes.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + lobstertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Milk + lobstertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together489 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and a rich, mellow body to the broth.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel in the soup.
- Lobster
- Provides the main flavor and the tender meat of the soup.
- Red pepper
- Adds warmth, pungency and color to the broth.
The step that matters
Boil for 10 minutes. Lobster meat becomes firm and rubbery when cooked too long at a hard boil. Keep the heat controlled and watch the timing so the lobster stays tender.
“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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