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Lobster Croquettes

A fried croquette made with lobster, mashed potatoes, egg yolks, butter, parsley, and coated in egg and cracker crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Lobster Croquettes

Why it works: Potato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,855 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Lobster Croquettes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine the lobster meat, mashed potatoes, beaten egg yolks, butter, and minced parsley in a bowl.

  2. Mold the mixture into shapes the size of an oyster.

Coat and fry

  1. Roll each croquette in egg, then coat with cracker crumbs.

  2. Fry in hot lard until golden brown.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,855 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Meat + potatotop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together786 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Lobster + meattop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together909 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  5. Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together28,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lobster meat
Provides the main flavour and the tender, flaky filling of the croquette.
Mashed potatoes
Binds the filling and keeps it moist and soft inside the crust.
Egg yolks
Add richness and help bind the mixture so the croquettes hold their shape.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smoother, softer texture in the filling.
Cracker crumbs
Form a crisp, golden outer coating when fried.

The step that matters

Fry in hot lard until golden brown. If the lard is not hot enough, the croquettes absorb grease and turn heavy and soggy before the crust sets. Hot fat browns the coating quickly, sealing in moisture and keeping the filling tender.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, meat, potato, egg, butter):

  1. Parsleythe original
  2. Capersfits about as well
  3. Nutmegfits about as well
  4. Tarragonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, meat, potato, egg, butter. 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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