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Clam Chowder

A soup made with clams, potatoes, salt pork, butter, flour, milk, water, onion, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Norton, Caroline Trask · 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 ↓

Clam Chowder

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the clams

  1. Pick clams in the shell.

  2. Wash the clams until clean.

  3. Put the clams in a kettle with one quart of cold water.

  4. Cook the clams on the stove until the top ones are broken open, then remove from the stove.

  5. Skim out the clams.

  6. Pour the liquid into a dish to settle.

  7. When the clams are cool, cut off the heads with scissors.

Make the chowder

  1. Slice 1 quart potatoes.

  2. Add the salt pork to the kettle and fry the onion in it.

  3. When browned, remove the pieces of onion and pork.

  4. Add the potatoes and the clam liquor, pouring it carefully to avoid disturbing the settling.

  5. When the potatoes are soft, add the clams, seasonings, and hot milk, adding more water if desired.

  6. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, and add to the chowder, or add to the hot milk before it is added.

  7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve

  1. Put the crackers in the tureen and turn the chowder on them.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1159Calories
54 gProtein
35 gFat
156 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pork100g cooked242
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot 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.

By Norton, Caroline Trask. 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. See the original page.

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. Potato + porktop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

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

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

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Clams (in the method)
Provide the main flavor and texture, and release a savory liquor that seasons the broth.
Potatoes
Soften during cooking to thicken the chowder and give it body.
Salt pork
Renders fat that carries flavor and gives the onion a savory, browned base.
Milk
Adds creaminess and richness to the broth.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, and with flour forms a thickener for the chowder.
Flour
Thickens the butter mixture so the chowder becomes smoother and fuller.

The step that matters

Pouring the clam liquor. Clam liquor settles in the dish and holds sand grit at the bottom. Pouring slowly keeps the settled grit undisturbed, so the chowder stays clean and not gritty.

Swap the onion

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, pork, butter, flour, milk, 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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