Why it works: Pepper and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,691 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Bearnaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a double boiler, beat the egg yolks.
Add the salad oil and hot water, and cook until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the salt, paprika or cayenne, and tarragon vinegar.
For a butter version, use 3 tablespoons of creamed butter instead of oil and omit the hot water.
When thick, remove from heat and add 2 more tablespoons of creamed butter along with the seasonings.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Pepper + tarragontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,691 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tarragon + vinegartop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + vinegartop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27,805 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Egg + tarragontop 13% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Egg + vinegartop 22% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together12,205 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify and thicken the sauce as they cook gently over heat.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat that emulsifies with the yolks, giving the sauce a rich, smooth body.
- Tarragon vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich yolk and fat flavor.
The step that matters
Cook until thickened over a double boiler. Egg yolks set gently with indirect heat. Too much heat scrambles them, while too little leaves the sauce thin and unstable, so keep the water below a simmer and stir constantly.
Flavor stand-ins for the tarragon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, vinegar):
- Tarragonthe original
- Dillabout as good a flavor fit
- Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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