Why it works: Lobster and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,095 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Lobster Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lobster
Pick out all the meat from the body and claws of the lobster and mince it.
Set aside the coral for the dressing.
Make the dressing
In a bowl, rub the yolks of the hard-boiled eggs into a smooth paste.
Gradually add the salad oil, mustard, salt, sugar, cayenne pepper, and the coral, mixing well.
Moisten with vinegar as needed until the mixture is smooth and pourable.
Stir in the minced lobster until well combined.
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 + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mustard + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,120 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,147 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster
- Provides the main body of the salad, with the meat as the central ingredient.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Their yolks form a smooth, rich paste that gives the dressing body.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat and richness, and helps emulsify the dressing into a smooth texture.
- Prepared mustard
- Adds sharp flavour and helps bind the oil into the dressing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity to brighten the dressing and thin it to a pourable consistency.
The step that matters
Gradually add the salad oil. Adding oil slowly while mixing lets it emulsify into the yolk paste. Adding it all at once can split the dressing into greasy pools that will not come smooth.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, egg, sugar, pepper, vinegar, sauce):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Horseradishfits less well
- Cucumberfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, egg, sugar, pepper, vinegar, sauce. 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.
More lobster salad recipes
You might also like
Lobster Sauce174 recipes
Lobster Croquettes99 recipes
Lobster Balls7 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipesThe 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.