Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, being careful not to brown it.
Add the flour and mix until smooth.
Gradually add the cream or milk, stirring continually until it boils.
Stir in the salt and pepper, then use immediately.
Hold for later
If not ready to use, keep warm over boiling water, stirring frequently to prevent a crust from forming.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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
- Butter
- Adds fat and rich flavour, and helps the flour blend into a smooth base.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid as its starch swells with heat, giving the sauce body.
- Cream or milk
- Forms the liquid of the sauce and provides creaminess and richness.
The step that matters
Add the cream or milk gradually. Flour must be evenly dispersed in the fat before liquid is added. Adding the cream or milk slowly while stirring prevents lumps, because the starch granules swell and thicken smoothly as the sauce heats toward boiling.
“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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