Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
White Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the roux
Cut the butter into pieces and melt it slowly in an enameled saucepan over medium heat, shaking it frequently.
Skim off any scum from the surface and let it settle for a few minutes.
Pour off the melted butter, leaving the sediment behind, and rinse the saucepan.
Return the melted butter to the saucepan and place it back over the heat.
Thicken and finish
Gradually add enough flour to thicken the mixture, stirring well after each addition.
Keep the sauce white and simmering without allowing it to boil or brown.
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.
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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
- Provides fat and richness, and forms the base that flour thickens into a smooth sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter into a smooth sauce as its starch swells with gentle heat.
The step that matters
Keep the sauce white and simmering without boiling or browning. Above a gentle simmer, the milk solids and flour can scorch or brown, changing the sauce's colour and flavour. Steady low heat and frequent stirring keep it smooth and pale.
“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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