Why it works: Parsley and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,979 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Sauce Piquante
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Heat the cup of liquor to a boil, then skim and season with salt and pepper.
Skim again before stirring in the browned flour mixed with cold water.
As the sauce thickens, add the butter, herbs, mustard, and vinegar. Bring to a boil.
Serve
Pour half over the tongue and the rest into a sauceboat.
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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Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,979 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + marjoramtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Liquor from boiled tongue
- Forms the savoury base of the sauce and carries its flavour.
- Browned flour
- Thickens the liquid as it heats, giving the sauce body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a nutty, browned flavour, and helps carry the herbs.
- Onion vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the sauce and balances its richness.
- Made mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent heat that gives the sauce its piquant character.
The step that matters
Skim again before stirring in the browned flour mixed with cold water. Skimming removes foam and fat from the liquor so the sauce stays clear and clean-tasting. Mixing the flour with cold water first prevents lumps when it meets the hot liquid.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, mustard, pepper, flour, parsley, marjoram, vinegar):
- Shallotfits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, mustard, pepper, flour, parsley, marjoram, 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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