Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Rhubarb Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the peeled and chopped rhubarb with the sugar in a pot.
Simmer gently for 1 hour, or longer if the rhubarb is old and tough.
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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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rhubarb
- Provides the bulk and tart flavour, and breaks down into the butter's body as it cooks.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, as it cooks down, helps thicken the mixture into a spreadable butter.
The step that matters
Simmering gently. Sugar and rhubarb can scorch on the bottom of a pot if the heat is too high. Gentle heat lets the fruit break down evenly and the mixture thicken without burning.
“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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