Why it works: Butter and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Quenelles, Forcemeat for
Ingredients
Directions
Pound the meat, panada, and fresh butter together.
Season with salt, cayenne, and mace if the panada is not already seasoned.
For fish quenelles, add a little anchovy.
Gradually mix in the white sauce, egg yolks, and egg white.
Test the forcemeat and adjust seasoning or add another egg yolk if needed.
Keep the mixture in a cool place or on ice until ready to use.
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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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,594 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + macetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,405 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Meat + saucetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,167 recipes
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, butter, sauce, egg):
- Capersfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, butter, sauce, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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