Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 27,047 recipes mention both. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Heat the béchamel sauce in a saucepan.
In a bowl, mix the white stock and egg yolks together.
Slowly whisk the stock and yolk mixture into the hot béchamel sauce over low heat until it thickens, but do not let it boil.
Stir in the lemon juice and add the butter bit by bit, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Pass the sauce through a fine strainer or tammy cloth.
Serve
Reheat gently and use as required.
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.
-
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sauce and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 15,338 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify with butter and thicken the sauce as they gently cook.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the sauce a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
- Béchamel sauce
- Provides a thick, starch-based body that supports the sauce.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich, buttery flavour.
The step that matters
Thickening over low heat without boiling. Egg yolks begin to set at moderate temperatures and can scramble if overheated. Gentle, slow whisking over low heat thickens the sauce smoothly, while boiling can curdle it.
“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 hollandaise sauce recipes
You might also like
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.