Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 27,047 recipes mention both. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Rub the butter into a cream.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in the lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Pour in the boiling water and set over a pan of boiling water.
Cook until the sauce reaches the consistency of custard.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Egg and lemon share little aroma chemistry, yet 44,316 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify with the butter and thicken the sauce as they cook into a custard.
- Butter
- Provides fat that gives the sauce its rich, smooth body.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich butter and egg flavour.
The step that matters
Cook until the sauce reaches the consistency of custard. Egg yolks thicken from gentle heat, but overheating scrambles them into lumps. Cook slowly over simmering water and keep beating so the yolks set smoothly and the sauce stays emulsified.
“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 hollandaise sauce recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.