Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Melted Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Mix flour with a little water in a separate bowl to create a smooth paste.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the melted butter, stirring constantly.
Continue to cook until the sauce thickens, then serve separately.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, carrying flavour and giving the sauce a smooth mouthfeel.
- Flour
- Starch that thickens the sauce as it cooks with the butter and liquid.
The step that matters
Adding the flour paste to the butter. Stirring constantly while adding the flour mixture keeps it dispersed, so lumps do not form. Starch thickens as it heats, so the sauce should be cooked until it thickens fully.
“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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