Why it works: Parsley and pepper 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, Bashawec
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a sharp oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the lobster
Cut up the whole lobster, removing the coral and lobster butter if unavailable.
Mix the lobster with cream or white sauce, parsley, anchovy essence, black pepper, and scalded onion or shallot, then stir the mixture and heat it until hot.
Fill and bake
Butter the lobster shell and dredge it with bread crumbs.
Fill the shell with the lobster mixture, topping with more bread crumbs.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until hot throughout.
Garnish and serve
Garnish with chopped parsley or lobster coral before serving.
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.
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Lobster + anchovytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together470 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
-
Lobster + creamtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (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 meat, which is cooked through during baking and held in the shell.
- Cream or white sauce
- Adds moisture and richness so the lobster filling stays soft rather than dry.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a golden, lightly crisp crust on the top and shell edges as they brown in the oven.
- Anchovy essence
- Adds a salty, savoury depth that seasons the lobster filling.
- Onion or shallot
- Adds aromatic sweetness and savoury flavour to the filling once scalded.
The step that matters
Heating the filling before it goes into the shell. The lobster is cooked only by heating, and the baking step mainly needs to bring the filling through. Heating the mixture first ensures it is hot throughout, so the lobster stays tender rather than overcooked, and the shell does not stay cold in the centre.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, cream, parsley, anchovy, pepper, butter, bread):
- Potatofits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, cream, parsley, anchovy, pepper, butter, bread. 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.
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
Lobster Sauce174 recipes
Lobster Croquettes99 recipes
White Bread80 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.