Why it works: Pepper and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Lobster Sausages
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the mixture
Remove the flesh from the lobster and mince it finely.
Pound the minced lobster in a mortar with the butter, salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and half of the coral, which should be pounded separately and pressed through a fine sieve.
Shape and bake
Shape the mixture into sausage-like rolls and sprinkle the remaining coral over them.
Place the rolls in a 350°F (175°C) oven until heated through.
Serve on a folded napkin and garnish with lettuce leaves.
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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Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + macetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,405 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Lobster + macetop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together596 recipes
Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster
- Provides the main flesh, which sets the sausage's texture and sweet, delicate flavour.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, keeping the pounded mixture moist and smooth.
The step that matters
Heating the rolls until heated through. The lobster is already cooked, so the goal is only to warm it. Extended heat tightens the proteins and dries the fat out, leaving the rolls rubbery and crumbly.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, butter, pepper):
- Parsleyfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, butter, pepper. 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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