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
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Skin the fish and cut it into 2-inch square pieces, removing all bones.
Build the chowder
In a 3-quart saucepan, fry the salt pork until crisp but not scorched, then remove from heat.
Layer the fish over the pork, followed by a layer of sliced potatoes, onions, pepper, salt, and split crackers dipped in cold milk. Repeat until all ingredients are used.
Fill the kettle with hot water, cover, and boil gently for 1 hour without stirring.
Finish and serve
About 5 minutes before serving, dip half of the crackers in cold milk and cover the top of the chowder with them.
Serve in a tureen with 1 pint of warm milk and the butter.
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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Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the chowder and becomes tender during the long gentle simmer.
- Potatoes
- Thickens the broth as they break down and adds body to the chowder.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor from the crisped pork as a base for the layers.
- Split crackers
- Absorb liquid and soften, helping to thicken the chowder.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and richness to the chowder and softens the crackers.
The step that matters
Boil gently without stirring. Stirring can break up the fish and potato layers and make the chowder cloudy. A gentle simmer keeps the layers intact while the starch and flavors develop slowly.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, potato, pepper, milk, butter, egg):
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, potato, pepper, milk, butter, egg. 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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