Why it works: Butter and capers are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,637 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Caper Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Chop the capers finely.
Add the chopped capers and their liquor to the melted butter.
Stir well over low heat until combined.
Serve
Serve hot with boiled mutton.
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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Butter + caperstop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,637 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Melted butter
- Forms the rich fat base that carries the flavour and gives the sauce its smooth, coating texture.
- Capers
- Add a sharp, briny acidity that cuts through the richness of the butter.
- Caper liquor
- Adds more of the caper's salty, tangy flavour, spreading it evenly through the sauce.
The step that matters
Stir over low heat. Butter can separate or scorch if overheated, and gentle heat keeps the emulsion smooth while the capers' flavour blends in evenly.
“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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