Why it works: Lobster and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,050 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Make the lobster sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Add the lobster, truffles, cayenne pepper, and salt; simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the Madeira wine and cook for 3 minutes longer.
Finish and serve
Beat the egg yolks and mix in the cream, then stir into the lobster mixture.
Serve immediately; do not cook after mixing to prevent curdling.
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.
-
Lobster + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + truffletop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,209 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Madeira wine + truffletop 5% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together195 recipes
-
Butter + eggtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together118,511 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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 and sweet, delicate flavor of the dish.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce as they heat gently, giving it a smooth, rich texture.
- Cream
- Adds richness and moisture, helping the sauce become smooth and velvety.
- Madeira wine
- Adds depth and a fortified, nutty sweetness to the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavor through the sauce.
The step that matters
Do not cook after mixing the yolks and cream. Egg yolks can scramble and curdle when exposed to prolonged or excessive heat. Stirring them in off the heat and serving right away keeps the sauce smooth.
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.