Why it works: Butter and capers are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,637 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Caper Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Stir in 3 to 4 teaspoons of capers and keep stirring after adding them.
Add a little vinegar and bring the sauce to a boil.
Use ½ cup of melted butter for a larger joint.
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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Butter + caperstop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,637 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Capers + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,453 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Carries the fat that gives the sauce its richness and smooth, rounded mouthfeel.
- Capers
- Add a sharp, briny flavour and a slight texture to the sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich butter and sharpens the caper flavour.
The step that matters
Keep stirring after adding the capers. Melted butter is a mix of fat and water, and constant stirring keeps them blended. Stopping lets the sauce separate or the milk solids scorch on the pan base, leaving it grainy.
Swap the capers
The recipe marks capers as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, vinegar):
- Tarragonfits better
- Garlicfits about as well
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Capersthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, vinegar. 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.
More caper sauce recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.