Skip to main content
Sauce

Bearnaise Sauce

A sauce made from egg yolks, vinegar, stock, olive oil, onion juice, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Olive and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,779 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Bearnaise Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Make the emulsion

  1. Beat the egg yolks until very light.

  2. Gradually add the stock and olive oil while stirring continuously.

  3. Place over low heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove from heat, add seasoning, and mix well.

  2. Allow to cool before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,226 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Their proteins emulsify the oil and thicken the sauce when gently heated.
Olive oil
Adds fat and richness, forming the emulsion with the yolks for a smooth texture.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the richness of the yolks and oil.
White stock
Adds liquid that loosens the emulsion and contributes savoury flavour.

The step that matters

Thickening over low heat. Egg yolks set when they get too hot, so the sauce can curdle or scramble. Low heat and constant stirring let the yolks thicken gradually and hold the emulsion together.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, olive, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Cucumberfits better
  3. Tomatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, olive, pepper. 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.

You might also like

Wine Sauce (for stewed fruit)Wine Sauce (for stewed fruit)186 recipesCaper SauceCaper Sauce180 recipesBrown SauceBrown Sauce141 recipesDutch SauceDutch Sauce74 recipes