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Clam Chowder

A preserved clam chowder made with clams, onions, bacon, tomatoes, potatoes, salt, pepper, herbs, and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Clam Chowder

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the clams in cold water, then drain and chop them.

  2. Cut the bacon and potatoes into small cubes.

Make the chowder

  1. In a large kettle, combine the water, clams, onions, bacon, tomatoes, and potatoes.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

  3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly.

Can and process

  1. Can the mixture, cap the cans, and tip the cans.

  2. Process for 89 minutes at 250°F (120°C).

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Tomato + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,370 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Quahaugs
Provide the main meaty texture and the briny clam flavor of the chowder.
Potatoes
Add body and soft texture, and their starch helps thicken the broth.
Bacon
Adds fat and savory, smoky flavor that carries through the whole pot.
Onions
Add aroma and sweetness as they cook down into the base.
Tomatoes
Contribute acidity, color and a fresh tang that balances the rich fat.

The step that matters

Process for 89 minutes at 250°F (120°C). Holding the sealed cans at this temperature for the full time is what makes a low-acid mixture like this safe to store. Shortening the time or temperature leaves surviving microbes that can spoil the food or cause illness.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clam, onion, tomato, potato, parsley, thyme, marjoram):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Basilfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clam, onion, tomato, potato, parsley, thyme, marjoram. 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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