Why it works: Fish and butter match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,432 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, soy, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the fish stock
In a large pot, put water, fish fillets, salt and spices.
Bring to a boil.
Let simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Make the vegetable base
In a frying pan, melt butter and oil.
Briefly sauté onions, celery, garlic and green peppers.
Add tomatoes and consommé and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Transfer this mixture to the fish stock.
Finish and serve
Add remaining ingredients.
Simmer partially covered for 2 hours.
Adjust seasoning.
Serve soup piping hot.
Pass around Outerbridge's Original Sherry Peppers Sauce and Gosling's Black Seal rum so guests can add a few dashes of each.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Fish + buttertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,432 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Thyme + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Thyme + celerytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,188 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Celery + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together16,001 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White fish fillets
- Provides the main flesh and flavor that the chowder is built around.
- Onions
- Build sweetness and savory depth as they soften in the butter and oil.
- Tomatoes
- Add acidity and body, forming the tomato base of the chowder.
- Potatoes
- Release starch as they cook, thickening the broth and giving it body.
- Celery
- Adds aromatic, savory flavor and a little crisp texture to the soup.
- Carrots
- Contribute natural sweetness and firm pieces that hold their shape during simmering.
The step that matters
Simmer the fish stock gently. Fish is delicate, and a hard boil can toughen and break up the flakes. A gentle simmer cooks the fillets through while keeping them tender and intact.
Flavor stand-ins for the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, thyme, butter, onion, celery, garlic, pepper):
- Parsleybetter flavor fit
- Marjorambetter flavor fit
- Sagebetter flavor fit
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, thyme, butter, onion, celery, garlic, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.