Why it works: Butter and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Holland Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Put into a saucepan a teaspoon flour, two ounces butter, two tablespoons each of vinegar and water, the beaten yolks of two eggs, and salt to taste.
Put over the fire and stir constantly until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil or it will curdle and require straining through a gravy strainer.
Finish and serve
Add the juice of one-half lemon and serve with baked fish.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Vinegar + lemontop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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
- Enriches the sauce with fat, giving it a smooth, rich mouthfeel.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks thicken the sauce and emulsify the butter into it as it heats.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps balance the richness of the butter.
- Lemon juice
- Adds bright acidity that lifts the flavour of the finished sauce.
- Flour (in the method)
- Helps stabilise the sauce and gives it additional body as it thickens.
The step that matters
Stir over gentle heat without boiling. Egg yolks thicken at moderate heat but scramble and curdle if overheated. Constant stirring spreads heat evenly and keeps the emulsion smooth. If the sauce curdles, it must be strained.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, vinegar, egg):
- Strawberryfits about as well
- Currantfits about as well
- Raspberryfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, vinegar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
More hollandaise sauce recipes
You might also like
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.