Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Rub 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons flour together in a hot saucepan.
Pour in a scant half cup of hot milk and after a moment's boiling the same quantity of sweet cream.
Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper, and, if liked, a very little grated nutmeg.
Let simmer for several minutes and serve hot.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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 and helps carry flavour.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the liquid as its starch swells when heated, giving the sauce body.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, which thickens with the flour.
The step that matters
Adding the flour to the butter. Cooking the butter and flour together forms a roux. If the flour is not fully mixed in, lumps form and the sauce thickens unevenly. Simmering afterward lets the starch fully swell and the raw flour taste cook off.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, pepper):
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Thymefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, pepper. 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.
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