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Lobster Catsup

Preserved lobster mixed with sherry wine, cayenne pepper, and black pepper, stored in bottles.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Sherry and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,107 recipes. Both carry piperonal, which smells bitter, coconut. The science ↓

Lobster Catsup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the lobster

  1. Remove the meat from the lobster and pound the red coral in a mortar.

  2. Add the lobster meat and moisten with a little sherry wine.

Season and bottle

  1. Mix in the cayenne and the rest of the sherry, then combine thoroughly.

  2. Transfer to two wide-mouthed bottles, topping each with black pepper.

  3. Cork the bottles tightly and tie them with leather.

Store

  1. Store for up to one year.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Sherry + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  2. Wine + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,066 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Lobster + sherrytop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together215 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Lobster + peppertop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,247 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

  5. Sherry + winetop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together0 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lobster
Provides the main savoury flesh and the red coral, which adds colour and rich flavour to the catsup.
Sherry wine
Adds acidity and a mellow, aromatic flavour that moistens and blends the lobster.
Cayenne pepper
Adds heat that gives the catsup its sharp, spiced character.

The step that matters

Combine thoroughly. Mixing the cayenne and sherry evenly through the lobster ensures consistent seasoning and moisture throughout, so no bottle holds pockets of heat or dryness.

“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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