Why it works: Lettuce and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,356 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Lobster Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pick the lobsters finely.
Cut the lettuce finely.
Layer the lobster and lettuce in a salad bowl.
Boil the eggs.
Mash the yolks.
Make the dressing
Mix the yolks with butter, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, sugar, and vinegar.
Heat the mixture.
Pour the mixture over the salad just 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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Lettuce + mustardtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,356 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Lettuce + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,037 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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 sweet, delicate flesh for the salad.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks bind with butter and mustard, thickening the dressing into a smooth emulsion.
- Butter
- Adds richness and body to the dressing, carrying flavor and smoothness.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the dressing and balances the richness of the butter and yolks.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the acidity of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Heat the dressing gently. Egg yolks thicken when heated, but too much heat can scramble them. Heating the mixture gently and stirring keeps it smooth and pourable rather than curdled.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, egg, butter, mustard, pepper, sugar, vinegar):
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, egg, butter, mustard, pepper, sugar, vinegar. 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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