Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Butter Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Season the flour with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves.
Mix with enough water to form a paste and work in the butter.
Place the paste in a pan over medium heat and boil for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and gradually add more butter, stirring continuously.
Add vinegar and mix thoroughly.
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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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- All-purpose flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch gelatinises during boiling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the rich sauce.
The step that matters
Boil the paste for 15 minutes. Flour must be heated long enough for its starch to swell and thicken the sauce, otherwise it stays pasty and tastes raw. Keep the heat steady so the mixture does not scorch on the bottom of the pan.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper, nutmeg, egg, butter, vinegar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pepper, nutmeg, egg, butter, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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