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Pickled Clams

Pickled clams preserved in a vinegar solution with peppercorns 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 cleave from their shells, then remove them.

  3. Place the clams in a glass jar.

Make the pickling liquid and pickle

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

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

  3. Cork the jar tightly.

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

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  3. Clam + cidertop 42% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

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

What each ingredient does

Clams
The main ingredient; brief boiling firms the flesh so it holds its shape in the brine.
Cider vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves and sharpens the clams as they pickle.
Whole peppercorns
Adds a sharp, aromatic spice flavour to the pickling liquid.
Pimento
Adds a mild, sweet aroma and flavour to the pickling liquid.

The step that matters

Boiling the clams until they cleave from their shells. Boiling loosens the clams from their shells, but overcooking toughens the meat and makes it rubbery, so remove them as soon as they release.

“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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