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Clam Chowder

A layered soup of bacon, onion, potatoes, clams, crackers, and milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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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 ↓

Clam Chowder

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Fry the bacon lightly in a pot.

  2. Remove the bacon from the pot.

  3. Add the onion slices to the bacon fat.

  4. Cut the potatoes into small dice.

Layer and cook

  1. Layer the diced potatoes in the pot.

  2. Add a layer of chopped clams and small bits of bacon.

  3. Add a layer of broken crackers.

  4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  5. Continue layering until all ingredients are used.

  6. Add enough clam juice and water to cover the layers.

  7. Cook until the potatoes are done.

Finish

  1. Just before serving, add the hot milk.

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. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  2. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  3. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  4. Potato + clamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together80 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 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

Potatoes
Provide the bulk and starch that thickens the chowder as they cook.
Clams
Supply the main seafood flavor and tender chewy texture.
Bacon
Adds smoky, savory fat that flavors the pot and the layers.
Broken crackers
Absorb liquid and help thicken the chowder as they break down.
Milk
Adds creaminess and mild sweetness to the finished broth.

The step that matters

Adding the milk just before serving. Milk can scorch or curdle if it boils for long or is added to a very hot pot. Adding it hot and at the end keeps it smooth and creamy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, clam, pepper, milk):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Tomatofits about as well
  3. Asparagusfits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, clam, pepper, 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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