Why it works: Lemon and pepper 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 ↓
Anchovy Butter
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the butter, anchovy paste (or filleted anchovies), lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and hard boiled egg yolks.
Pound the mixture together until well blended.
Rub the mixture through a fine sieve to achieve a smooth consistency.
Use as directed.
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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Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Anchovy + eggtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + anchovytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Anchovy + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,080 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Provides fat and richness, carrying the flavour and giving the spread its soft body.
- Anchovy paste
- Supplies the salty, savoury depth that defines the butter's flavour.
- Hard boiled egg yolks
- Add body and a creamy texture, helping the butter hold together when smoothed.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich butter and balances the anchovy.
The step that matters
Rub the mixture through a fine sieve. Pounding alone can leave lumps of egg yolk or anchovy. Pressing the mixture through a fine sieve breaks down remaining fibres and particles, producing the smooth, even texture the spread needs.
“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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