Why it works: Lobster and parsley work together. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 890 recipes. Both carry octanal, which smells fat, soap. The science ↓
Scalloped Lobster
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 and layer
Chop the lobsters, setting aside the coral.
Layer the chopped lobster in a baking dish, seasoning with coarse sea salt.
Pour in the milk (or water).
Top with cracker crumbs.
Bake and serve
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
Garnish with grated coral and parsley sprigs before serving.
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.
-
Lobster + parsleytop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together890 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
-
Milk + parsleytop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,011 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Lobster + milktop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together489 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobsters
- Provide the main protein and flavour of the dish.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness, softening the lobster as it bakes.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden topping that browns in the oven.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, milk):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, milk. 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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Lobster Sauce174 recipes
Lobster Croquettes99 recipes
Lobster Balls7 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes