Why it works: Lobster and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,095 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
To Boil a Brill
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the brill as you would a turbot.
Once dished, sprinkle lobster coral that has been passed through a fine sieve over the brill.
Serve with lobster sauce and plain melted butter.
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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Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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
- Brill
- The main fish, whose firm, flaky flesh is cooked gently by boiling.
- Lobster coral
- Adds a rich, delicate flavour and a bright colour to the finished fish.
- Lobster sauce
- Provides a rich, savoury coating that adds moisture and flavour to the fish.
- Plain melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, moistening the fish and softening its flavour.
The step that matters
Boil the brill as you would a turbot. Fish proteins set and toughen quickly when overcooked, so gentle simmering in water just below a boil keeps the flesh moist and flaky. Timing matters more than the record states, and the cook must judge doneness by eye.
“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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