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 roux
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Whisk in the flour slowly until combined.
Thicken and finish
Gradually mix in the boiling water and salt.
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened like cream.
Stir in the capers.
If capers are unavailable, substitute 1 tablespoon chopped cucumber pickle or 1 teaspoon vinegar.
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
- Melts to form the fat base that carries flavor and gives the sauce richness.
- Flour
- Combines with the melted butter and then thickens the liquid as its starch swells when heated.
- Capers
- Add a briny, tangy flavor that cuts through the richness of the butter.
The step that matters
Adding the boiling water gradually. Flour starch clumps if liquid is added too fast. Adding the water slowly while whisking keeps the mixture smooth, and heating it to a boil lets the starch swell and thicken the sauce.
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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