Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Clam Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the clams
Open the clams and save the liquor.
Chop the clams finely.
Make the soup
In a kettle, combine the chopped clams, clam liquor, and cold water; bring to a boil and skim off any foam.
Add the sweet milk, butter, crushed crackers, pepper, and salt; boil for a minute or two.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Clam + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together840 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Clam + milktop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together636 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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 soup.
- Clam liquor
- Adds concentrated clam flavor to the broth.
- Sweet milk
- Adds richness and creaminess to the soup.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth mouthfeel.
- Crushed crackers
- Thickens the soup slightly as they absorb liquid.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam after boiling. Foam that rises as the clams heat contains impurities that can cloud the broth and taste bitter. Skimming it keeps the soup clear and clean-flavored before the milk is added.
“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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