Why it works: Capers and flour 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 sauce base
In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
Add the pickled capers and simmer for a few minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and flour together.
Combine and thicken
Gradually add the broth to the egg mixture, stirring constantly.
Pour the mixture into the saucepan with the butter and capers, stirring until thickened.
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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Capers + flourtop 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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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, carrying flavour and giving the sauce a smooth mouthfeel.
- Egg
- Thickens the sauce as it heats and adds richness and body.
- Flour
- Helps thicken the sauce and gives it a stable, smooth body.
- Pickled capers
- Add a sharp, acidic, briny flavour that cuts through the richness of the butter.
- Broth
- Provides the liquid base that gives the sauce its savoury flavour and volume.
The step that matters
Pour the egg mixture into the butter while stirring until thickened. Egg proteins set when heated, so the sauce can curdle or turn grainy if it gets too hot or stops being stirred. Keeping the heat low and stirring constantly keeps it smooth and evenly thickened.
Swap the capers
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, flour):
- Capersthe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Parsleyfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, 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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