Why it works: Lobster and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,609 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Boudinettes Op Lobsters, Prawns, or Shrimps
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Shell the prawns or shrimp quickly and minimally.
In an enamelled saucepan, combine the fish with 3 ounces of butter and your chosen spices.
Cook gently
Place the saucepan over a gentle fire to heat the fish gradually, shaking it occasionally to mix the seasoning.
Do not allow the mixture to boil; heat until the butter is nearly simmering, then remove from heat.
Let the fish sit in the saucepan for a few minutes, then transfer it evenly into small round cups.
Finish
Pour clear butter over the fish, ensuring no sediment is included.
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 + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobsters, prawns, or shrimps
- Provides the main protein and sweet seafood flavour of the dish.
- Butter
- Carries the seasoning and adds richness and a silky, moist texture.
The step that matters
Do not allow the mixture to boil. Gentle heat keeps the seafood tender and the butter clear. Boiling toughens the proteins in the fish and can separate the butter, leaving milky solids that spoil the texture.
“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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