Caper Sauce for Boiled Mutton

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. Flour + caperstop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,024 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together78,219 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Butter + caperstop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,637 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour 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

Carries fat for a rich mouthfeel and helps the flour mix smoothly into a roux.

All-purpose flour

Starch thickens the sauce once heated in liquid, giving it body.

Mutton cooking liquid

Forms the savoury base of the sauce and adds meaty flavour.

Milk

Adds creaminess and softens the sauce's texture.

Capers

Add a briny, sharp acidity that cuts through the richness of the sauce.

The step that matters

Swap the capers

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, mutton, milk):

1. Cinnamonfits better
2. Nutmegfits better
3. Capersthe original
4. Turmericfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, mutton, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.