Why it works: Butter and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 85,593 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Anchovy Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the anchovies
Wash and bone the anchovies.
Make the butter
Pound the anchovies in a mortar until smooth, adding a little butter to help.
Rub the mixture through a fine sieve.
Mix the anchovy paste with the remaining butter.
Add a little ground pepper to enhance the color.
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 + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fresh butter
- Forms the creamy base that carries the anchovy flavor and gives the spread its smooth texture.
- Anchovies
- Supply the salty, savory flavor that defines the butter.
- Ground pepper
- Adds a little warmth and flavor while helping the spread look more appealing.
The step that matters
Pound the anchovies until smooth. Anchovies must be broken down fully into a paste; any pieces left unground will feel gritty and spread unevenly through the butter. Adding a little butter helps the mash blend smoothly.
“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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