Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Anchovy Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the bones and skin from the anchovies and chop them very finely.
Put the chopped anchovies into a pan with the gravy.
Thicken the mixture with the butter and a little flour, shaking it continuously over the heat until it reaches the consistency of melted butter.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Anchovies
- Provide the main savoury, salty flavour that defines the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds richness and body, and helps create a smooth, glossy texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce so it coats the back of a spoon.
The step that matters
Thickening with butter and flour. Flour must be shaken continuously over the heat so it disperses evenly; otherwise lumps form and the sauce turns grainy instead of smooth. Gentle, steady heat keeps the butter from separating.
“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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