Why it works: Flour and capers match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,024 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Caper Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
In a double boiler, mix the butter and flour.
Add the hot water and salt, stirring until thick.
Finish the sauce
Strain the mixture and stir in the pickled capers.
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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Flour + caperstop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,024 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + caperstop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,637 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 fat that carries flavour through the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch swells in the hot butter and liquid.
- Pickled capers
- Add briny, sharp flavour that cuts through the richness of the butter.
The step that matters
Adding the hot water and salt. Flour thickens only when its starch granules are fully wetted and heated. Stirring while the hot water goes in spreads it evenly and prevents lumps, so the sauce thickens smoothly.
Swap the capers
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour):
- Jalapenofits better
- Capersthe original
- Nutmegfits less well
- Cinnamonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour. 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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