Why it works: Pork and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,214 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Fish 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 base
Cut the salt pork into small pieces and fry until the fat is rendered.
Add the chopped onions and fry until browned.
Cook and finish
Place the fish pieces in a pot with enough water to cover and boil for about 20 minutes.
Thicken the broth with a mixture of flour and water.
Stir in the milk and season with salt and pepper to taste.
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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Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + fishtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together668 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Pork + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,386 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Fish + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,432 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salt pork
- Rendered fat carries flavour and gives the chowder a savoury base for frying the onions.
- Onions
- Browning them adds sweetness and depth to the broth.
- Fish
- Provides the main protein and flavour, cooked gently in the broth.
- Flour
- Thickens the broth as its starch swells with heat, giving body to the chowder.
- Milk
- Adds richness and creaminess, softening the broth's flavour.
The step that matters
Thicken the broth with flour and water. Flour must be mixed smoothly with water before adding, otherwise it forms lumps. Starch thickens the liquid only once it is heated, so the broth should be simmering while it is stirred in.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, fish, flour, milk, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, fish, 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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