Why it works: Butter and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,645 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Golden Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter to a cream.
Gradually beat in the powdered sugar.
Add the beaten yolks of the eggs and mix vigorously.
Stir in the wine (or vanilla/lemon).
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth and gently fold them into the mixture.
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.
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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and give the sauce a rich, smooth body.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the creamed butter.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and emulsify with the butter for a smooth, thick texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a stiff froth, they lighten the sauce and add airy volume.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites beaten to a stiff froth hold air that gives the sauce its lightness. Stirring them in vigorously knocks out that air, so fold gently to keep the sauce light.
“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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