Why it works: Sauce and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and 15,338 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Dutch or Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Prepare 1 pint of white sauce as directed in the proper recipe.
Finish and serve
While the sauce is still hot but not boiling, stir in 2 egg yolks.
Add 3 tablespoons of salad oil (or melted butter) and 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
Serve immediately.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Sauce + vinegartop 26% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together3,844 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Sauce and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 15,338 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify the fat into the sauce and thicken it as they gently heat.
- White sauce
- Provides the thickened base that carries the yolks and fat.
- Salad oil or butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky body once emulsified.
- Vinegar or lemon juice
- Adds acidity that balances the richness and sharpens the flavour.
The step that matters
Stirring in the yolks while the sauce is hot but not boiling. Yolk proteins thicken and can scramble if the sauce is too hot, so the sauce must be warm enough to thicken it without curdling. Adding the fat gradually helps the emulsion hold together.
“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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