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Karen's New England Clam Chowder

A creamy clam chowder made with condensed potato soup, half‑and‑half, clams, and seasonings.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Karen's New England Clam Chowder

Timeabout 15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the chowder

  1. Heat the condensed potato soup with half-and-half in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Add the clams, dried minced onion, dried parsley flakes, garlic powder, seasoned salt, hot sauce, salt, and black pepper.

  3. Season with salt and pepper.

  4. Reduce heat to low.

  5. Simmer gently until thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

Thicken and serve

  1. If the chowder isn't thick enough, stir in instant potato flakes, adding and stirring until the desired thickness is reached.

  2. Alternatively, stir in Wondra flour a little at a time, adding and stirring until the desired thickness is reached.

  3. If thickening with flour, cook an additional 2–3 minutes to eliminate raw flour taste.

  4. Drizzle melted butter on top.

  5. Ladle soup into bowls.

  6. Garnish with fresh minced parsley.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

476Calories
31 gProtein
18 gFat
52 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Shrimp100g cooked99
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Soupnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

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

  4. Potato + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,517 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,308 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Condensed cream of potato soup
Provides the thick, starchy base that gives the chowder its body.
Fat free half-and-half
Adds creamy liquid that carries flavor and softens the texture.
Whole baby clams
Supply the main seafood flavor, along with their undrained clam liquor.
Butter
Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel when drizzled over the finished soup.

The step that matters

Thickening with flour. Adding flour without cooking it long enough leaves a raw, pasty taste. Stir it in gradually so it doesn't clump, then simmer until the raw flavor is gone.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, potato, clam, onion, garlic, sauce, pepper):

  1. Parsleythe original
  2. Celeryfits about as well
  3. Thymefits less well
  4. Cuminfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against cream, potato, clam, onion, garlic, sauce, 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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