Why it works: Shallot and capers match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 405 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Piquante Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a small saucepan, combine shallots, gherkins, capers, vinegar, thyme, bay leaf, and mignonette pepper.
Bring to a boil and reduce the vinegar to a third of its original quantity.
Add the Espagnole sauce and blond of veal.
Simmer gently, skimming off any impurities.
Remove thyme and bay leaf, then transfer to a bain-marie for use.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Shallot + caperstop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together405 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Shallot + thymetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,476 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Capers + thymetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together309 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Capers + saucetop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together678 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
- French vinegar
- Reduced to a third of its volume, it concentrates the sharp, acidic flavour of the sauce.
- Espagnole sauce
- Provides the body and savoury base that the reduced vinegar and aromatics are added to.
- Blond of veal
- Adds gelatine and rich meaty depth, giving the finished sauce more body and mouthfeel.
- Shallots
- Contribute mild onion sweetness and aroma as they cook down into the sauce.
The step that matters
Reducing the vinegar. Boiling until the vinegar is reduced to a third concentrates its acidity and aroma. If it is reduced too little, the sauce will taste sharp and thin; if too far, it turns harsh and overly sour, so watch the volume closely.
Flavor stand-ins for the thyme
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shallot, capers, vinegar, pepper, sauce, veal):
- Tarragonbetter flavor fit
- Parsleybetter flavor fit
- Thymethe original
- Marjoramabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against shallot, capers, vinegar, pepper, sauce, veal. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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