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 ↓
Queen Corn Chowder, New England Style
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Remove the kernels from the corn.
In a saucepan, combine the diced salt pork and minced onions, then cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
Add strong white stock and simmer for 30 minutes, then remove from heat.
Slice the new potatoes thinly and rinse in cold water. Drain and coat in flour.
Layer and bake
In a French casserole, layer the potatoes, corn pulp, and the cooked onion and salt pork mixture.
Season and sprinkle each layer with cracker meal and chopped parsley.
Continue layering until all ingredients are used. Add enough white broth to cover the chowder.
Cover and bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 2 hours.
Serve
Serve in the same dish, with cheese crackers on the side.
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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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Corn + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together938 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salt pork
- Renders fat and flavour into the onions and broth, adding savoury depth.
- New potatoes
- Thickly layered slices soften during baking and give the chowder its body.
- Green corn
- Sweet kernels and pulp add sweetness and texture to the chowder.
- Flour
- Coating on the potato slices helps thicken the liquid as the chowder bakes.
The step that matters
Covering and baking low and slow. Baking at a gentle 300°F with a lid keeps the liquid from boiling away and lets the potatoes cook through evenly without scorching, so the layers turn tender and the chowder stays moist.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, pork, onion, potato, flour):
- Garlicfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Cuminfits better
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, pork, onion, potato, flour. 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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