Why it works: Lobster and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,095 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Lobster Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stew
In a pan, melt the butter over low heat.
Add the lobster squares and cook slowly until tender.
Stir in the cream sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and curry powder.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve
Serve the stew on slices of thin, crisp, buttered toast.
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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Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Lobster + creamtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,787 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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 protein and tender, sweet meat that forms the body of the stew.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavour when melted gently into the pan.
- Cream sauce
- Supplies creamy moisture and body, giving the stew its smooth, rich texture.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Adds savoury, tangy depth that rounds out the creamy base.
- Curry powder
- Contributes warm aroma and spiced flavour to the stew.
The step that matters
Cook the lobster slowly over low heat. High heat toughens lobster proteins and makes the meat rubbery. Gentle, slow cooking keeps it tender and juicy until it is just done.
“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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