Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and 122,807 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
English Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Slowly boil the wine.
Add the egg yolks and sugar to the wine.
Whip the mixture over the heat until it becomes frothy.
Use as directed.
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.
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Wine + sugartop 31% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Wine + eggtop 33% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptenal (green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Wine
- Provides the liquid base and acidity that gives the sauce its flavour.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce and add richness as they cook gently with the wine.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and balances the acidity of the wine.
The step that matters
Whip the mixture over the heat until it becomes frothy. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat; if the heat is too high they scramble and curdle, so keep the heat low and whisk constantly.
“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.
You might also like
Wine Sauce (for stewed fruit)186 recipes
Wine Sauce for Sweet Puddings6 recipes
Caper Sauce180 recipes
Brown Sauce141 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.