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Cod Chowder

A hearty soup of cod, salt pork, onions, crackers, and oysters simmered in milk and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Cod Chowder

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the layers

  1. Cut the cod into dice.

  2. Layer a double handful of cod in the bottom of a soup pot.

  3. Add sliced pork, onion, and pepper, then cover with crackers.

  4. Repeat layering until all ingredients are used.

Stew

  1. Cover with cold water and put on the pot lid.

  2. Stew gently until the fish is tender, about 1 hour after boiling begins.

Strain and serve

  1. Remove fish and crackers with a slotted spoon and place in a tureen.

  2. Strain the broth through a colander to remove bones, then return to the kettle.

  3. Heat the broth before serving.

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. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  3. Fish + oystertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together496 recipes

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

  4. Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Onion + porktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,214 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Cod fish
Forms the main body of the chowder and becomes tender during slow stewing.
Boston crackers
Soak up cooking liquid and thicken the chowder while adding body.
Salt pork
Adds fat and savory flavor that seasons the broth as it cooks.
Oysters
Contribute briny flavor and a soft, rich texture to the chowder.
Milk
Adds creaminess and mild sweetness to the broth.

The step that matters

Stew gently until the fish is tender. Boiling vigorously toughens and breaks up delicate fish flesh, while gentle simmering cooks it evenly and keeps the pieces intact.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, onion, pork, butter, oyster, milk, pepper):

  1. Thymefits about as well
  2. Parsleythe original
  3. Garlicfits about as well
  4. Celeryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, onion, pork, butter, oyster, milk, pepper. 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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