Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Sardine Canapes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the spread
Mix butter with anchovy paste.
Spread the mixture on slices of bread.
Garnish and serve
Garnish with sardines, chopped olives, and pickles.
Serve hot or cold.
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.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Lemon + olivetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,922 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Olive + breadtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,091 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Anchovy + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,260 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
-
Anchovy + olivetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together880 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Fat that carries flavour and gives the spread a soft, creamy texture.
- Anchovy paste
- Concentrated salty, savoury flavour that seasons the butter spread.
- Sardines
- Oily, savoury fish that adds flavour and richness to the topping.
- Bread
- Base that holds the spread and garnish in place.
“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.
You might also like
The 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.
Brown Bread461 recipes
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes