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Clam Bouillon

A broth made from clams, seasoned with pepper and butter, served with whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Clam Bouillon

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the bouillon

  1. Wash the clams thoroughly.

  2. Cover the clams with boiling water and boil for 20 minutes.

  3. Strain the mixture and let the bouillon settle.

  4. Strain again and reheat the bouillon.

Season and serve

  1. Season with pepper and butter.

  2. Serve in bouillon cups topped with whipped cream.

  3. Chop a few clams finely and add to the bouillon if desired.

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. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Clam + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together840 recipes

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

  3. Clam + creamtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together245 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  4. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Pepper + creamtop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Pepper and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Clams
Release their savory flavor and natural juices into the water, forming the bouillon's base.
Butter
Adds richness and fat that rounds out the broth and carries flavor on the palate.
Whipped cream
Adds richness and a soft, cooling fat layer that contrasts with the hot broth.

The step that matters

Strain and let the bouillon settle. Clams can carry sand and grit, and fine particles remain suspended in the liquid. Straining and letting it settle lets sediment fall, so a second straining gives a clearer, smoother bouillon.

“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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