Name: Boiled-Peanut Beurre Blanc
Yield: Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients: 2 shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup); 1 cup champagne vinegar; 1 cup white wine; Small bouquet of fresh thyme and tarragon sprigs tied together with kitchen twine; 3 black peppercorns; 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into very small cubes and chilled; 1 tablespoon gremolata (equal parts minced garlic, parsley, and lemon zest); 1/2 cup shelled boiled peanuts; Salt and ground black pepper

Why it works: Garlic and peanut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 877 recipes mention both. Both carry 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

The recipe

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

Contains: milk, peanut (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

2 shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 cup champagne vinegar
1 cup white wine
Small bouquet of fresh thyme and tarragon sprigs tied together with kitchen twine
3 black peppercorns
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into very small cubes and chilled
1 tablespoon gremolata (equal parts minced garlic, parsley, and lemon zest)
1/2 cup shelled boiled peanuts
Salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Garlic + peanuttop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together877 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Champagne + white winetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together74 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Thyme + tarragontop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together463 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Shallot + tarragontop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together492 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Shallot + thymetop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together1,467 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shallot, champagne, vinegar, white wine, thyme, tarragon, butter):

Marjorambetter flavor fit
Parsleybetter flavor fit
Fennelbetter flavor fit
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shallot, champagne, vinegar, white wine, thyme, tarragon, butter. 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).

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