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Lobster Patties

A pastry-wrapped lobster mixture baked into patties.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Lobster Patties

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the filling

  1. Chop the lobster finely.

  2. Season the lobster with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

  3. Mix in the butter or cream.

Assemble the patties

  1. Line patty pans with pastry.

  2. Fill the pans with the lobster mixture.

  3. Cover with pastry lids.

  4. Make a hole in the center of each lid.

  5. Decorate with small fancy leaves.

  6. Brush the patties with beaten egg.

Bake

  1. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes.

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. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

Puff pastry
Its layers puff and separate in the oven, forming a flaky, crisp shell.
Lobster
Provides the main filling, giving the patties their seafood flavor and tender texture.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the filling and carries flavor.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the filling soft rather than dry.
Beaten egg (in the method)
Promotes browning and gives the pastry a glossy golden surface.

The step that matters

Make a hole in the center of each lid. The vent lets steam escape while the patty bakes. Without it, trapped steam can build pressure, lifting or splitting the pastry and making the filling soggy.

“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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