Why it works: Butter and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 5,083 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
To Make Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Melt the butter in a clean saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in the flour until smooth.
Gradually mix in the water, brandy, and white wine.
Add sugar to taste and stir continuously until thickened, without boiling.
Serve
Pour into a sauceboat and serve hot.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,083 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Brandy + white winetop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together620 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Adds richness and a rounded flavour, and carries the flour into a smooth base.
- Flour
- Its starch thickens the melted butter and the liquid as they heat, giving the sauce body.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and a bright, fruity flavour that balances the richness of the butter.
- Brandy
- Contributes aroma and a warm, concentrated flavour to the sauce.
- Moist sugar
- Adds sweetness that rounds out the acidity of the wine and brandy.
The step that matters
Stirring until thickened, without boiling. Flour starch thickens as it heats and needs constant stirring to dissolve evenly without lumps or scorching on the pan base. Boiling can scorch the sauce and cause the starch to break down, leaving it thin and grainy.
“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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