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Scalloped Lobster

A lobster dish baked with cream, eggs, breadcrumbs, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Scalloped Lobster

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the filling

  1. Rub the lobster meat, including the coral, in a mortar with the butter until it forms a soft paste.

  2. Combine the lobster mixture with seasoning in a saucepan and heat to boiling, stirring constantly.

  3. Remove from heat and stir in the cream and lemon juice.

Bake and serve

  1. Fill the lobster shell with the mixture and sprinkle bread crumbs on top.

  2. Place in a 400°F (200°C) oven until the crumbs begin to brown.

  3. Serve in the shell on a hot dish.

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. Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Lobster + anchovytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together470 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

  3. Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,095 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Lobster + creamtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  5. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

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 rich flavour of the filling.
Eggs
Bind the filling and help it set into a soft, sliceable texture.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, browned topping over the filling in the oven.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, helping the lobster meat form a smooth paste.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, giving the filling a softer, silkier texture.

The step that matters

Stirring the filling while it heats to boiling. Constant stirring keeps the mixture from scorching on the pan base and gives an even texture before the cream and lemon are added off the heat. Eggs are not heated in this step, so they are not cooked here.

“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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