Why it works: Butter and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,645 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter until creamy.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue beating until very light.
Heat the wine and add it slowly to the mixture.
Place the bowl in a basin of hot water and stir for 2 minutes.
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 + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the sauce a light, smooth body and rich flavour.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the butter, adding body and lightness when beaten.
- Wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, flavouring the sauce.
The step that matters
Adding the hot wine slowly. Adding warm liquid too quickly to creamed butter can make the mixture separate or curdle. Adding it gradually lets the emulsion stay smooth and combined.
“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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