Why it works: Brandy and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,209 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Lobster Newberg
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lobster
Heat the lobster pieces with butter over low heat in a stew-pan.
Mix the brandy and sherry, then pour over the lobster.
Make the sauce
Make a white sauce by melting butter, adding flour to form a paste, and gradually whisking in milk until thick.
Stir in the egg yolk and season with salt.
Combine and serve
Combine the lobster mixture with the white sauce 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.
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Brandy + sherrytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,209 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Milk + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Lobster
- Provides the main protein and sweet, delicate flavour of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavour when heated with the lobster and in the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a white sauce that coats the lobster.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the white sauce, giving it a smooth, creamy body.
- Egg yolk
- Enriches the sauce and adds thickness and a silky texture.
- Brandy
- Adds warm, aromatic depth and flavour to the lobster.
The step that matters
Stir in the egg yolk. Adding egg yolk to a hot sauce can scramble it, leaving lumps. Lower the heat and stir steadily so the yolk thickens the sauce smoothly.
“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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