Why it works: Butter and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,645 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the butter and powdered sugar, and cream them together.
Heat the wine in a saucepan until warm.
Slowly add the warm wine to the butter mixture while stirring.
Cook the mixture over boiling water for 2 minutes.
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.
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 + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it adds richness and a smooth, rich body to the sauce.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and, creamed with butter, gives the sauce a smooth, fine texture.
- Wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, flavouring the sauce and thinning the butter mixture.
The step that matters
Adding the warm wine slowly while stirring. Butter and sugar form a thick emulsion-like base. Adding liquid too quickly can cause it to separate or turn grainy, so pouring slowly while stirring keeps it smooth and blended.
“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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