Name: He’s Just an Old Crab Chowder
Ingredients: 1 small white onion, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour; 2 cups fresh chicken stock; 2 cups evaporated milk; 2 cups tomato juice; 1 cup cooked potato cubes; 2 cans crab meat; 1/8 teaspoon paprika; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

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.

Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + potatotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,798 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Olive + potatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,458 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Chicken + potatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,756 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

White onion: Softens and adds savory sweetness as it cooks clear in the oil.
All-purpose flour: Thickens the stock and milk into a smooth, body-rich base.
Evaporated milk: Adds creaminess and richness to the chowder.
Crab meat: Provides the main seafood flavor and tender texture.
Cooked potato: Adds bulk and a soft, starchy body to the chowder.

The step that matters

Cook the flour mixture until smooth. Stirring often while the flour hydrates in the warm liquid prevents lumps. Raw flour tastes pasty, so the base needs enough cooking to thicken evenly before the other ingredients go in.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, olive, flour, chicken, evaporated milk, potato, crab):

Capsicumfits better
Chivefits better
Spinachfits about as well
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, olive, flour, chicken, evaporated milk, potato, crab. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Meat	not in our table	0

He’s Just an Old Crab Chowder