Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Caper Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, beat together the flour and butter until creamy.
Pour in the boiling water and set the mixture over heat.
Stir constantly until the sauce reaches a boiling point.
Season with white pepper and cayenne pepper.
Add the lemon juice and capers, stirring to combine.
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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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Lemon + caperstop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,222 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Flour + caperstop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,024 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + caperstop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,088 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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
- Thickens the sauce as it heats with the liquid, giving it body.
- Butter
- Beaten with the flour to form a smooth base and adds richness to the sauce.
- Capers
- Add a briny, tangy flavour that cuts through the richness of the butter.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the butter.
The step that matters
Stirring constantly while it heats. Flour-thickened sauces can scorch on the base or form lumps if left unattended. Constant stirring spreads heat evenly and lets the starch gelatinise smoothly as the sauce comes to the boil.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, pepper, lemon, capers):
- Parsleyfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Thymefits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, pepper, lemon, capers. 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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