Why it works: Flour and capers match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,024 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Caper Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
Gradually add the flour, stirring continuously.
Pour in the liquid from the boiled mutton while stirring.
Add the capers and mix well.
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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Flour + caperstop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,024 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + caperstop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,637 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + muttontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,781 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mutton + caperstop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together199 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavour, and helps form the base of the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth sauce as it cooks with the butter.
- Liquid from boiled mutton
- Forms the savoury body of the sauce, carrying the flavour of the meat.
- Capers
- Add a sharp, briny acidity that cuts through the richness of the sauce.
The step that matters
Adding the liquid while stirring. If the liquid is poured in too fast or without stirring, the flour clumps and the sauce turns lumpy. Constant stirring disperses the starch so it thickens evenly.
“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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