Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cherry Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, combine cherry juice, butter, and cream.
Stir in corn starch and cook until thickened.
Finish and serve
Whip the egg white until soft peaks form, then gradually add powdered sugar.
Fold the meringue into the cherry mixture before serving.
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.
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + corntop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 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
- Cherry juice
- Provides the main fruit flavour and colour of the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, glossy mouthfeel to the sauce.
- Cream
- Adds body and creaminess, softening the sauce's texture.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the liquid as it cooks, giving the sauce its body.
- Egg white
- Whipped into a meringue that lightens the sauce and adds airy texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and dissolves easily into the whipped egg white.
The step that matters
Cooking the cornstarch mixture until thickened. Cornstarch only thickens once the liquid reaches a simmer and the starch granules swell and gelatinize. Stopping too early leaves a thin sauce, while overcooking can break down the starch and thin it again.
“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.
More cherry sauce recipes
You might also like
Corn Cake90 recipes
Corn Starch Cake89 recipes
Corn Cakes22 recipes
Green Corn Pudding14 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.