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B & M Clam Chowder

A creamy clam chowder made with clams, potatoes, onions, milk, butter, and bouillon.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

B & M Clam Chowder

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. Dissolve STEERO bouillon cubes in boiling water.

  2. Chop clams, potatoes, and onions.

  3. Add clams, potatoes, and onions to the bouillon.

Simmer and finish

  1. Simmer until potatoes are tender.

  2. Stir in milk and butter.

  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  4. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  5. Clam + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Potatoes
Provide starch and body, becoming tender and giving the chowder its substance.
Clams
Supply the main seafood flavor and tender bite in the chowder.
Milk
Adds creaminess and richness to the broth.
Butter
Adds fat for richer flavor and a smoother mouthfeel.
Onions
Add savory aromatic flavor as they soften in the broth.

The step that matters

Simmer until potatoes are tender. Potatoes need enough time in simmering liquid to soften fully. Adding milk too early or boiling hard can curdle dairy and break the texture, so keep the heat gentle once milk goes in.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clam, potato, milk, butter, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Onionthe original
  3. Asparagusfits about as well
  4. Tomatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against clam, potato, milk, butter, pepper. 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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