Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Lobster Darioles with Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare a salpicon by mixing diced lobster meat, white fish forcemeat, cayenne pepper, coarse sea salt, and a little aspic jelly.
Select even-sized small round tomatoes and cut out the center gently.
Plunge the tomatoes into boiling water to remove the skin carefully.
Drain the skinned tomatoes on a cloth and place them in small dariole molds.
Fill the molds with the lobster salpicon and steam in a covered stewpan with a little water for about 30 minutes.
Turn the darioles onto a cloth to drain and glaze with stiff tomato sauce mixed with strong meat glaze and a little aspic jelly when cold.
Arrange the darioles in a circular row and place a heap of macedoine of vegetables seasoned with stiff tartare sauce in the center.
Sprinkle lobster coral on top, garnish with parsley, 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + parsleytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,398 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Meat + fishtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together479 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, meat, fish, pepper, sauce, parsley):
- Shallotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, meat, fish, pepper, sauce, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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