Why it works: Butter and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 98,233 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter until creamy.
Add the sugar and stir until the mixture is white and foamy.
Pour in the boiling water and stir for a moment.
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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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky, creamy body to the sauce.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and, when beaten with butter, helps trap air for a light, foamy texture.
- Boiling water
- Melts the butter and sugar into a smooth, pourable sauce.
The step that matters
Pour in the boiling water and stir for a moment. Water that is not boiling may fail to melt the creamed butter and sugar fully, leaving a grainy or separated sauce. Stir promptly so the mixture emulsifies evenly.
“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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