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Lobster Chowder

A hearty soup made with lobster, cod, potatoes, and pilot crackers, simmered in milk and cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Lobster Chowder

Ingredients

Directions

Layer the kettle

  1. Place a rack in a deep kettle and layer with salt pork, then cod, followed by sliced potato, salt, pepper, and small lumps of butter.

  2. Add a layer of pilot crackers, then lobster pieces.

  3. Add another layer of pilot crackers and cod.

  4. Repeat until all ingredients are used, finishing with lobster on top.

  5. Add plenty of butter.

  6. Dust a salt and pepper over the top.

Cook and serve

  1. Pour in 1 pint of milk.

  2. Pour just enough water to cover all ingredients.

  3. Boil slowly for 40 minutes.

  4. Just before serving, add the hot cream.

  5. Sprinkle chopped parsley over each portion as served.

  6. Sprinkle pepper over each portion as served.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,855 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  5. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cod
Forms flaky pieces that become tender and mingle into the broth as it cooks.
Lobster
Provides the sweet, rich shellfish flavor and tender meat that defines the chowder.
Potato
Thickens the broth slightly as it breaks down and gives the chowder body.
Pilot crackers
Soak up the liquid and help thicken the chowder while adding savory body.
Milk
Adds creaminess and a mild sweetness that rounds out the broth.
Hot cream
Adds richness and fat, giving the finished chowder a smooth, velvety mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Boil slowly for 40 minutes. A gentle simmer keeps the cod and lobster tender and prevents the milk from scorching or curdling on the bottom of the kettle. A hard boil toughens seafood and can break the dairy.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, lobster, potato, milk, onion, pepper, butter):

  1. Garlicfits about as well
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Parsleythe original
  4. Celeryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, lobster, potato, milk, onion, pepper, butter. 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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