Why it works: Sorrel and butter work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 652 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
To Stew Sorrel for Fricandeau and Roast Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Wash the sorrel and place it in a silver vessel or stone jar with just enough water to cling to the leaves.
Simmer slowly until tender.
Add a small bit of butter and beat it well before serving.
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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Sorrel + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together652 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sorrel
- Is the main vegetable; cooking softens its leaves into a tender, spoonable stew.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, glossy finish when beaten into the stew.
The step that matters
Simmer slowly until tender. Sorrel leaves break down quickly and can turn dull or bitter if overcooked. Gentle heat softens them evenly while keeping their bright, tangy flavour.
“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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