Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Drawn Butter Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden.
Gradually add the hot water, whisking to prevent lumps.
Add the salt and pepper, and cook until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar or lemon juice.
Finish
For Parsley Sauce, add the chopped parsley before serving.
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.
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, rounded flavour to the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as it cooks with the butter and water.
- Vinegar or lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the butter.
The step that matters
Gradually add the hot water, whisking to prevent lumps. Flour clumps when liquid is added all at once because its starch grains coat unevenly. Adding the hot water slowly while whisking spreads the flour evenly, so the sauce thickens smooth instead of lumpy.
Swap the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, flour, vinegar, sauce):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Jalapenofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, flour, vinegar, sauce. 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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