Why it works: Onion and potato 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
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the clams
Boil the clams for 10 minutes, then remove them from their shells.
Strain the clam liquor and set aside.
Cook the base
Fry the salt pork and chopped onion in a pan until brown and crisp.
Cook the sliced potatoes in water until tender, then drain.
Add the clam liquor, pork scraps, onion, and clams to the pot with the potatoes.
Melt the butter in a separate pan, then stir in the flour and mix with some hot clam liquor.
Combine the mixture with the chowder, then stir in the milk.
Serve
Serve hot with crackers.
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.
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.
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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Clam + porktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together305 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Clams
- Provide the main flavor and texture of the chowder.
- Salt pork
- Adds savory fat and flavor when rendered until crisp.
- Potatoes
- Give body and starchy bulk to the chowder.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, and helps form the thickening roux.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid into a creamy, smooth base.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and mild sweetness to the broth.
The step that matters
Mixing the flour with butter and hot clam liquor. Flour clumps if added directly to liquid. Cooking it in melted butter and blending it with hot liquor helps it disperse evenly, giving a smooth, thickened chowder rather than lumps.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clam, pork, potato, butter, flour, milk, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Onionthe original
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against clam, pork, potato, 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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