Caper Sauce for Fish

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. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together12,525 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

2. Veal + mushroomtop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,446 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

3. Capers + mushroomtop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together266 recipes

   Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Vinegar + caperstop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,453 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

Melted butter

Forms the rich base of the sauce and carries the other flavours.

Veal gravy or jelly

Adds savoury depth and body to the butter.

Capers

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

Essence of anchovies

Adds a salty, savoury depth to the sauce.

Swap the capers

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

1. Tarragonfits better
2. Thymefits better
3. Garlicfits better
4. Capersthe original

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