Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pate Au Bouillon
Ingredients
Directions
Make the paste
Take two pounds of flour, a little salt, and the yolks of four eggs, a quarter of a pound of butter.
Wet it well with some beef or veal stock, or stock made with poultry, game, or fish, according to taste or circumstances.
Use the stock warm, rub the butter and salt into the flour and the eggs before mixing the stock.
Work it as lightly as possible; it is ready for use.
Use the paste
It is good for meat, fish, and game pies.
Great care must be taken that it does not burn, as it is apt to catch quickly in the oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Forms the bulk of the paste, providing structure once wetted and worked.
- Butter
- Adds fat that shortens the paste and gives it a tender texture.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and help bind the dough together.
The step that matters
Working the paste. Overworking develops gluten in the flour and makes the paste tough, so it should be handled as lightly as possible. Stock should be warm so the butter and salt blend in evenly before mixing.
“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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