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Sauce

Espagnol Sauce

A sauce made from brown sauce, sherry, meat extract, mushrooms, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Sherry and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,176 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Espagnol Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine the brown sauce, sherry, extract of meat, chopped mushrooms, and sugar in a saucepan.

  2. Bring to a boil and skim off any impurities.

  3. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and use as desired.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Sherry + mushroomtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,176 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Sauce + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,147 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Meat + mushroomtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,423 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Sauce + mushroomtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,480 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Sauce + meattop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,167 recipes

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Brown sauce
Forms the body and base of the sauce, giving it thickness and a rich, savory character.
Sherry
Adds acidity and aroma that brighten and round out the sauce's deep flavor.
Extract of meat
Concentrates savory meaty flavor, deepening the sauce's overall taste.
Fresh chopped mushrooms
Contribute earthy flavor and savory depth as they cook into the sauce.
Sugar
Adds a slight sweetness that balances the sharpness of the sherry and savory notes.

The step that matters

Skim off impurities while boiling. As the sauce comes to a boil, proteins and foam rise to the surface. Skimming them off keeps the sauce clear and prevents cloudiness and off-flavors.

“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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