Why it works: Lobster and anchovy work together. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 470 recipes. Both carry octanal, which smells fat, soap. The science ↓
Lobster-soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the flavouring
Boil the lobsters and set aside.
In a mortar, bruise the small claws and fins with the anchovy, lemon peel, and onions.
Make the stock
Add this mixture to the stock and simmer to extract flavor.
Strain the stock to remove solids.
Finish the lobster
Split the lobster tails and crack them without mangling.
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 + anchovytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together470 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Anchovy + oniontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,263 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Veal + anchovytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together456 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
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Anchovy + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,080 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Veal + lemontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobsters
- Supply the sweet meat and shells that give the soup its core seafood flavour.
- Veal gravy
- Forms the rich, savoury liquid base that carries the lobster flavour.
- Anchovy
- Adds savoury depth, rounding out the seafood taste without a fishy note.
- Lemon peel
- Contributes a bright citrus aroma that lifts the rich stock.
- Onions
- Add aromatic sweetness and a savoury base as they cook into the stock.
The step that matters
Simmer gently to extract flavor. Simmering slowly draws flavour from the bruised shells and aromatics into the stock. A hard boil can cloud the liquid and make it taste harsher, while a gentle simmer keeps it clear and well flavoured.
“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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