Why it works: Lemon and capers match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,222 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Caper Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Stir in the lemon juice, capers, and essence of anchovy.
Mix well and heat through 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.
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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Lemon + caperstop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,222 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Capers + anchovytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together473 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Butter + anchovytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Lemon + anchovytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,080 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + caperstop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,637 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, rounded body to the sauce.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the butter.
- Capers
- Add a briny, sharp flavour and a pleasant bite to the sauce.
- Essence of anchovy
- Adds a deep, savoury saltiness that rounds out the flavour.
The step that matters
Heating the sauce gently. Butter can separate or turn greasy if it gets too hot, and the lemon juice can curdle a dairy-based emulsion. Keeping the heat low lets the butter stay smooth and the flavours blend without breaking the sauce.
“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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