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Clam Fritters

A fried batter of clams, egg, milk, flour, butter, baking powder, and cayenne pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Clam Fritters

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. In a bowl, combine the chopped clams, egg, milk, flour, melted butter, baking powder, and cayenne pepper, then mix until well combined.

Fry and serve

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

  2. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides.

  3. Remove and drain on paper towels 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. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  2. Clam + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together840 recipes

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

  3. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Clams
Provide the main savory flavor and texture in the fritters.
Egg
Binds the batter together and helps the fritters hold their shape while frying.
Flour
Forms the structure of the batter so the fritters set when cooked.
Milk
Adds moisture to loosen the batter and helps it brown in the pan.
Baking powder
Releases gas that lightens the batter, giving the fritters a softer interior.
Melted butter
Adds richness and fat, contributing flavor and tenderness to the batter.

The step that matters

Frying the spoonfuls in hot oil. If the oil is not hot enough, the fritters absorb excess oil and turn greasy before they brown. If it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Medium heat and steady browning on both sides help the inside set.

“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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