Why it works: Pork and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Clam Chowder
Ingredients
Directions
Fry the salt pork in a pot until crispy.
Layer the clams and potatoes alternately over the fried pork.
Pour the clam juice and hot water over the layers.
Cook until nearly done.
Add the broken crackers and rich milk.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Pork + clamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together305 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Clam + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together80 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salt pork
- Renders fat for frying and adds savory, smoky flavor to the base.
- Soft shelled clams
- Provide the main seafood flavor and tender texture.
- Potatoes
- Add body and starch that thickens the broth as they cook.
- Clam juice
- Adds concentrated clam flavor to the cooking liquid.
- Broken crackers
- Soak up liquid and help thicken the chowder.
- Rich milk
- Adds creaminess and richness to the finished chowder.
The step that matters
Cook until nearly done. Potatoes need enough time to become tender before milk is added. Overcooking clams makes them tough and rubbery, so timing matters.
“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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