Skip to main content
Soup

Maryland Crab Soup

A crab soup made with water, celery, barley, bouillon, crab meat, mixed vegetables, tomatoes, oil, and seasoning.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Celery and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,377 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Maryland Crab Soup

Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine water, celery, barley, and bouillon in a large pot and bring to a boil.

  2. Reduce to simmer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.

  3. Add crab meat, mixed vegetables, tomatoes, oil, and seasoning.

  4. Bring to a second boil, reduce to simmer, and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

809Calories
55 gProtein
43 gFat
50 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Barley1 cup cooked (157g)193
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Waternot in our table0
Meatnot 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. Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

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

  2. Celery + barleytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together571 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  3. Barley + beeftop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together458 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  4. Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,448 recipes

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

  5. Crab + meattop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together448 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Barley
Softens as it simmers, thickening the broth and adding body and chew.
Backfin crab meat
Provides the main seafood flavor and tender, sweet pieces of meat in the soup.
Stewed tomatoes
Add acidity and savory depth, along with liquid that carries the other flavors.
Celery
Adds aromatic, savory flavor and a slight crunch as it cooks down.

The step that matters

Simmer gently after the second boil. Once the crab meat goes in, a hard boil can toughen the delicate meat and break it apart. Reducing to a gentle simmer keeps it tender while the flavors blend over the 30 minutes.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, barley, beef, crab, meat):

  1. Leekfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, barley, beef, crab, meat. 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.

You might also like

Cream of CeleryCream of Celery37 recipesMeatless Green Pea SoupMeatless Green Pea Soup22 recipesTomato BisqueTomato Bisque11 recipesIndian Spiced Potato Soup with Tofu and SpinachIndian Spiced Potato Soup with Tofu and Spinach448 recipes