Why it works: Parsley and capers match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,550 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Anchovy Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Make the butter
Cream the butter in a bowl until smooth.
Gradually beat in the flesh of the anchovies.
Add the chopped parsley and capers, mixing well.
Serve
Spread the mixture over slices of bread or crackers.
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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Parsley + caperstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,550 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + caperstop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,637 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Provides fat and a smooth, spreadable body that carries the other flavours.
- Anchovies
- Adds salty, savoury depth that melts into the butter.
- Capers
- Add briny acidity that cuts through the richness of the butter.
- Parsley
- Adds fresh, herbal aroma and a touch of green colour.
The step that matters
Creaming the butter until smooth. Butter softened and creamed until smooth takes in the anchovy and herbs evenly. If it is cold or lumpy, the flavourings stay in streaks and the spread feels grainy.
Swap the capers
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, parsley):
- Thymefits about as well
- Capersthe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Marjoramfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, parsley. 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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