Why it works: Butter and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,505 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Polka Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Beat the butter and powdered sugar until very light and foamy.
Set the bowl in boiling water.
Heat the sherry until hot, then gradually add it to the butter and sugar while continuously beating.
Continue beating until the mixture reaches the boiling point.
Serve
Serve with ice-cold polka pudding.
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 + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Provides richness and body, and beating it traps air for a light, foamy texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and dissolves smoothly into the butter for a fine texture.
- Sherry
- Adds liquid and flavor, loosening the butter and sugar into a pourable sauce.
The step that matters
Gradually adding the hot sherry while beating. Adding hot liquid too quickly can cause the butter to separate or curdle. Pouring slowly while beating keeps the fat emulsified into a smooth sauce.
“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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