Caper Sauce, No. 1

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. Sauce + caperstop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together678 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

2. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together15,338 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Capers + vinegartop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,453 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together13,513 recipes

   Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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 sauce

Provides the rich, fat-based body that the capers and vinegar are added to.

Capers

Add a sharp, briny flavour that cuts through the richness of the butter.

Vinegar

Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances its fat.

The step that matters

Swap the capers

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sauce, vinegar):

1. Tarragonfits about as well
2. Capersthe original
3. Garlicfits less well
4. Parsleyfits less well

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