Name: Lobster Mayonnaise
Ingredients: 1 large lobster; 4 filleted Gorgona anchovies; 1 hard-boiled egg; 6 stoned olives; 4 gherkins; a few slices of pickled beetroot; 1 tablespoon capers; 1 large or 2 small lettuces; Mayonnaise sauce

Why it works: Beetroot and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 678 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Lobster Mayonnaise

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Cut the lobster in half lengthwise.
Carefully break the claws and remove the meat intact.
Chop the remaining lobster into small pieces.
Wash and dry the lettuces, then tear them into small pieces.

Assemble and serve

In a bowl, combine the torn lettuce and small pieces of lobster.
Add the anchovies, egg, olives, gherkins, beetroot, and capers.
Mix gently and serve with mayonnaise sauce.

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.

Beetroot + lettucetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together678 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Beetroot + caperstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together231 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Capers + lettucetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together372 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Olive + caperstop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,688 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Olive + lettucetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,580 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

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 sweet, firm texture of the salad.
Lettuces: Adds crisp texture and a fresh, watery crunch that contrasts the rich dressing.
Mayonnaise sauce: Adds fat and creaminess that binds the salad and carries its flavours.
Hard-boiled egg: Adds soft, creamy richness and body to the salad.
Capers: Adds sharp, salty acidity that cuts through the rich mayonnaise.

Swap the beetroot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, egg, olive, capers, lettuce, sauce):

Mustardfits better
Shallotfits about as well
Beetrootthe original
Welsh onionfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, egg, olive, capers, lettuce, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.