Why it works: Potato and onion 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 ↓
Fish Chowder No. 2
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Shred the codfish and soak it in cold water to freshen for a few hours.
Slice the potatoes and onions thinly, then cover them with cold water.
Split and butter the crackers.
Make the chowder
In a kettle, fry the pork until golden brown, cutting it into small squares while frying.
Remove excess fat, leaving the pork in the kettle.
Layer the sliced potatoes, fish, and onions, sprinkling with salt, pepper, and flour.
Cover with boiling water and simmer slowly for about 45 minutes until the potatoes and onions are tender.
Just before serving, add the milk and bring to a boil.
Serve
Place the crackers in a tureen and pour the chowder over them.
Serve immediately.
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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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + porktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Onion + porktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,386 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Codfish
- Provides the main flesh and flavor of the chowder, becoming flaky as it cooks.
- Potatoes
- Soften during simmering and thicken the broth as their starch releases.
- Onions
- Break down during simmering, adding sweetness and savory depth to the broth.
- Salt pork
- Renders fat and salty flavor into the kettle, seasoning the whole chowder.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and richness to the broth when added near the end.
- Crackers
- Soak up the chowder at serving, adding body and a soft texture.
The step that matters
Simmering the layered chowder. Simmering slowly, rather than boiling hard, keeps the fish tender and prevents it from breaking apart, while the potatoes and onions cook through. Adding milk only just before serving and bringing it to a boil briefly avoids curdling and scorching.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, pork, milk):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Tomatofits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, pork, milk. 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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