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 ↓
New England Fish-chowder
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice the salt pork and fry it in a large, round-bottom iron pot over gentle heat until light brown. Remove and set aside.
Peel and slice two large onions, frying them until light brown with the pork. Remove and set aside.
Peel and slice four more large onions and ten medium-sized potatoes into ¼-inch thick slices.
Cut the fish into 1-inch thick slices, removing bones and skin if desired.
Layer and simmer
In the pot, layer fish, potatoes, and raw onions, seasoning each layer with 1 teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Repeat until half the ingredients are used.
Add half the pork and half the crackers, seasoning as before. Layer the remaining fish, potatoes, and onions, then top with the rest of the pork and crackers.
Pour enough cold water to cover the top layer by 3 inches. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, avoiding intense heat to prevent burning.
Finish
After 1 hour, add 1 pint of milk, bring to a boil, and serve.
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).
-
Onion + biscuittop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together428 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Cod or haddock
- Forms the main body of the chowder, flaking into tender pieces as it cooks.
- Potatoes
- Starch softens and thickens the broth while giving the chowder body.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and aroma as they soften and mellow during simmering.
- Salt pork
- Renders fat that carries savory flavor through the whole pot.
- Sea biscuit or pilot crackers
- Absorb liquid and help thicken the broth as they break down.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and richness to the finished broth.
The step that matters
Simmering gently over low heat. Intense heat can scorch the layers on the bottom of the pot, and the crackers and milk-enriched broth can burn or turn bitter. A gentle simmer cooks the fish and potatoes through while keeping the chowder smooth.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, potato, haddock, biscuit, pepper, milk):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, potato, haddock, biscuit, pepper, milk. 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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