Why it works: Butter and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,525 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓
White Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mushrooms
Cut off the stems closely from half a pint of small button mushrooms.
Clean the mushrooms with a little salt and a bit of flannel.
Throw the cleaned mushrooms into cold water, slightly salted, as they are done.
Drain the mushrooms well, or dry them in a soft cloth.
Make and serve the sauce
Throw the mushrooms into half a pint of boiling béchamel (see page 108), or of white sauce made with very fresh milk, or thin cream, thickened with a tablespoonful of flour and two ounces of butter.
Simmer the mushrooms from ten to twenty minutes, or until they are quite tender.
Dish the sauce, which should be properly seasoned with salt, mace, and cayenne.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Mushroom | 1/2 cup sliced (35g) | 15 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | not in our table | 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 + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mushroom + flourtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,253 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mushroom + macetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,529 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Butter + macetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,405 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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 a smooth, rounded flavour to the thickened sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch swells in the hot liquid.
- Mushrooms
- Provide the earthy flavour and the tender pieces that the sauce is built around.
- Béchamel
- Forms the creamy liquid base that carries the mushroom flavour.
The step that matters
Drain the mushrooms well before simmering. Mushrooms are mostly water and release liquid as they cook. If they stay wet, that liquid thins the sauce and dilutes its flavour and body.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, mushroom, flour):
- Thymefits better
- Capersfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, mushroom, flour. 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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