Why it works: Tarragon and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,299 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Bearnaise 'sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Heat the tarragon vinegar in a small saucepan over moderate heat until reduced to 1 tablespoon.
Add the egg yolks and a small piece of butter, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or small egg whisk.
Once the first piece of butter is melted, remove from heat and add another piece, stirring until melted.
Continue adding butter until all is melted, then return to heat for 1 minute.
Stir in the chopped tarragon.
Rescue and finish
Be careful not to cook the yolks, as this will cause the sauce to break.
If it breaks, add cold water drop by drop until it comes together.
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.
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Tarragon + vinegartop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together118,511 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Tarragon + buttertop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,193 recipes
Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
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Tarragon + eggtop 13% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Vinegar + buttertop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together13,453 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Emulsify the butter and thicken the sauce as they gently cook.
- Butter
- Provides richness and fat that is emulsified into the sauce for a silky texture.
- Tarragon vinegar
- Adds acidity and tarragon aroma, and is reduced to concentrate its flavour.
The step that matters
Keep the heat gentle while the butter goes in. Egg yolks thicken at low temperatures, but overheating scrambles them and causes the emulsion to separate, so the sauce breaks.
Flavor stand-ins for the tarragon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, butter):
- Tarragonthe original
- Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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