Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, cream together the butter and flour over gentle heat.
Add the chopped parsley, grated onion, pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and mix well.
Pour in the cream or milk.
Bring to a boil and let it boil for 15 minutes.
Finish
If serving with fresh fish, stir in horseradish if desired.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + horseradishtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together562 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + horseradishtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,784 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Melts with the flour to form a roux that thickens the sauce and adds richness.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce when cooked in fat and liquid, giving it body.
- Cream or milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce and adds richness and smoothness.
- Onion
- Adds savory aroma and flavour that mellows during simmering.
The step that matters
Boiling the sauce for 15 minutes. Once the cream or milk is added, the sauce must be brought to a boil so the flour fully cooks and the starch thickens the liquid; cooking it only briefly can leave a raw floury taste and thin texture.
Swap the horseradish
The recipe marks horseradish as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, parsley, onion, pepper, nutmeg, cream):
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits better
- Horseradishthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, parsley, onion, pepper, nutmeg, cream. 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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