Why it works: Butter and clam work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 840 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Scalloped Clams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the clams
Purchase a dozen large soft clams in the shell and three dozen opened clams.
Ask the dealer to open the first dozen, care being used not to injure the shells, which are to be used in cooking the clams.
Clean the shells well.
If bought in the shell, boil them and take out the hearts, which is the only part used.
Assemble and bake
Put two soft clams on each half shell.
Add a dash of white pepper and half a teaspoonful of minced celery to each shell.
Cut a slice of fat bacon into the smallest dice, add four of these to each shell.
Strew over the top a thin layer of cracker dust.
Place a piece of table butter on top.
Bake in the oven until brown.
Other ways to cook
Dip them in beaten egg and fry in the same manner as oysters.
Some prefer them stewed the same as oysters.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Shrimp | 100g cooked | 99 |
| Bacon | 1 slice cooked (8g) | 43 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Butter + clamtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together840 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
White pepper + celerytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together853 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
-
Celery + clamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together152 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Celery + buttertop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
White pepper + clamtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together47 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Clams
- Provide the main seafood body of the dish, cooked tender within the shells.
- Fat bacon
- Adds savoury fat and smoky flavour as it renders over the clams.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the top brown in the oven.
- Cracker dust (in the method)
- Forms a light crumb layer that toasts and adds texture on top.
- Beaten egg (in the method)
- Binds a coating that helps the clams brown evenly when fried.
The step that matters
Clean the shells well and handle the clams gently when opening. Shells are reused as the serving vessels, so any grit or cracks ruin them, and overcooking the clams makes them tough and rubbery.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, butter, clam):
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Pepperfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against celery, butter, clam. 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 Celery Soup113 recipes
Celery Stew25 recipes
Celery Croquettes16 recipes
Celery Cream Soup15 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.