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Lobster Darioles

A chilled lobster mousse served in a molded aspic with garnishes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 19 ingredients
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Why it works: Fennel and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 134 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Lobster Darioles

Ingredients

Directions

Line the moulds

  1. Line flat-bottomed dariole moulds with pale aspic jelly.

  2. Place a star cut from hard-boiled egg white at the bottom of each mould.

  3. Sprinkle the sides with chopped truffle.

Make the filling

  1. Mince the lobster meat and mix with anchovies, liquid aspic, mayonnaise, cream, fennel, parsley, and tarragon.

  2. Season with cayenne, lemon juice, and salt to taste.

  3. Fill the moulds with the mixture and set on ice until cold.

Turn out and decorate

  1. Turn out each dariole into a paper case.

  2. Use a piping bag to decorate the tops with green mayonnaise and add a bunch of lobster coral in the center.

  3. Garnish the serving dish with chopped aspic, chervil sprigs, and small lobster claws.

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. Fennel + tarragontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together134 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Parsley + tarragontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Fennel + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together625 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

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

  5. Truffle + meattop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together527 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Lobster meat
Forms the main body of the filling and gives its rich, savoury flavour.
Thick mayonnaise
Adds fat and creaminess so the filling is smooth and moist.
Thick cream
Adds richness and softness to the filling's texture.
Liquid aspic
Sets the filling with gelatine so the dariole holds its shape when turned out.
Boned anchovies
Contribute a salty, savoury depth that enhances the lobster flavour.
Hard-boiled egg white
Provides a firm, decorative base that contrasts with the filling.

The step that matters

Fill the moulds and set on ice until cold. The filling must be cold and sufficiently gelled before turning out, or the dariole will slump or break. Gelatine in the aspic only sets properly at low temperature, so the moulds need to chill fully.

Swap the fennel

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, truffle, lobster, meat, cream, parsley, tarragon):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Fennelthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, truffle, lobster, meat, cream, parsley, tarragon. 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.

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