Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Roe Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the roe
Cook the roe in a little water until tender.
When cool, remove any skin and mash the roe with the back of a wooden spoon.
Make the sauce
Add the mustard, anchovy sauce, and vinegar, then stir into the melted butter.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer gently for 15 minutes, then strain and serve.
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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Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Roe + anchovytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together65 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Roe + saucetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together142 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cod's roe
- Provides the main body and flavour of the sauce once cooked and mashed.
- Melted butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, fat-based texture to the sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich roe and butter.
- Made mustard
- Adds sharpness and aroma that balance the richness of the sauce.
- Anchovy sauce
- Adds a salty, savoury depth of flavour.
The step that matters
Mash the roe smoothly once it has cooled. Roe that is still hot can scramble or stay lumpy, and mashing it fully before adding butter helps it blend into an even, smooth sauce.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (roe, anchovy, sauce, vinegar, butter, pepper):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
- Onionfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against roe, anchovy, sauce, vinegar, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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