Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Strawberry Sauce for Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter until creamy.
Gradually add the sugar and mix well.
Incorporate the beaten egg white.
Fold in the thoroughly mashed strawberries.
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.
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Provides fat and a creamy, smooth base for the sauce.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the creamed base body and texture.
- Egg white
- Adds air and lightness when beaten, giving the sauce a softer, airier texture.
- Strawberries
- Contribute fruity flavor, aroma, moisture and a little acidity.
The step that matters
Incorporate the beaten egg white. Beaten egg white holds air that lightens the sauce. Mixing it in gently and briefly keeps that air from deflating, so the sauce stays light rather than dense.
“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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