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Pickled Clams

Clams pickled in cider vinegar with pepper and pimento.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Pickled Clams

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the clams

  1. Wash the clams and soak them in water.

  2. Boil the clams until they detach from their shells, then remove them.

  3. Place the clams in a glass jar.

Make the pickling liquid

  1. In a pot, boil the pepper and pimento in the cider vinegar.

  2. Allow the mixture to cool, then pour it over the clams in the jar.

Seal and rest

  1. Seal the jar tightly with a cork.

  2. Let the clams sit for one day before using.

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. Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + cidertop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,234 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Clam + peppertop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together952 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Clam + vinegartop 34% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together39 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

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

What each ingredient does

Clams
Are the main ingredient, cooked briefly so they firm up and release from their shells before pickling.
Cider vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves and sharpens the clams as they steep.
Pimento
Adds a mild, sweet aroma and flavour to the pickling liquid.
Unground pepper
Adds warm, sharp spice to the pickling liquid as it infuses in the vinegar.

The step that matters

Cooling the pickling liquid before pouring. Pouring hot liquid over the clams in a glass jar can crack the glass and partly cook the clams, so the mixture is allowed to cool first.

“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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