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Tunison Clam Chowder

A creamy clam chowder with butter, onions, crackers, tomatoes, herbs, milk, and sherry wine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Marjoram and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Tunison Clam Chowder

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent.

  3. Stir in the crushed crackers, tomatoes, and all the herbs and spices.

  4. Add the clams and cook for a few minutes until they open.

  5. Pour in the milk and sherry wine, and heat through without boiling.

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. Marjoram + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Marjoram + sagetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together507 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Thyme + sagetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,485 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Clams
Provide the main seafood flavor and tender texture of the chowder.
Butter
Adds richness and fat that carries the aroma of the herbs and spices.
Crackers
Thicken the broth and give the chowder body.
Milk
Adds creaminess and moisture, softening the chowder's body.
Onion
Adds sweetness and aromatic base flavor as it softens.

The step that matters

Heat the milk and sherry without boiling. Boiling dairy can cause it to curdle or separate and can make the clams tough. Keeping the liquid just below a simmer keeps the chowder smooth and the clams tender.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clam, tomato, parsley, butter, marjoram, thyme, sage):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Shallotfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clam, tomato, parsley, butter, marjoram, thyme, sage. 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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