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Clam chowder

 
Clam Chowder

 
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Clam chowder
 
 
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Clam chowder is any of several chowder
Chowder

Chowder is any of a variety of soups, enriched with salt pork fatback and thickened with flour, or more traditionally with crushed hardtack or saltine crackers, and milk....
s containing clam
Clam

Clam is a word which can be used for all, some, or only a few species of bivalve mollusks; the word is a common name which has no real Taxonomy significance in biology....
s and broth
Broth

Broth is a liquid in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmering. Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, or sauce....
. Along with the clams, diced potato
Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well....
 is common, as are onion
Onion

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa....
s, which are occasionally sauteed in the drippings from salt pork
Salt pork

Salt pork or white bacon is a cut of pork from the pork belly or sides, cured with salt or brine as a preservative and flavoring. Made from the same cut as bacon, salt pork is considerably saltier and is not Smoking ....
. Celery is frequently used. Other vegetable
Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
s are uncommon, but small carrot
Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange or white, or red-white blend in colour, with a crisp texture when fresh. The edible part of a carrot is a taproot....
 strips might occasionally be added, primarily for color. A garnish of parsley
Parsley

Parsley is a bright green, biennial plant herb, also used as spice. It is very common in Middle Eastern cuisine, European cuisine, and American cuisine cooking....
 serves the same purpose. Bay leaves are also sometimes used as a garnish and flavoring. It is believed that clams were added to chowder because of their relative ease to collect.

Clam chowder is often served in restaurants on Fridays in order to provide a seafood option for those who abstain from meat during Lent
Lent

Lent, in Christianity, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. Conventionally it is described as being forty days long, though different Christian denominations calculate the forty days differently....
, which used to be a year-round requirement before liturgical changes in Vatican II.






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Clam chowder is any of several chowder
Chowder

Chowder is any of a variety of soups, enriched with salt pork fatback and thickened with flour, or more traditionally with crushed hardtack or saltine crackers, and milk....
s containing clam
Clam

Clam is a word which can be used for all, some, or only a few species of bivalve mollusks; the word is a common name which has no real Taxonomy significance in biology....
s and broth
Broth

Broth is a liquid in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmering. Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, or sauce....
. Along with the clams, diced potato
Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well....
 is common, as are onion
Onion

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa....
s, which are occasionally sauteed in the drippings from salt pork
Salt pork

Salt pork or white bacon is a cut of pork from the pork belly or sides, cured with salt or brine as a preservative and flavoring. Made from the same cut as bacon, salt pork is considerably saltier and is not Smoking ....
. Celery is frequently used. Other vegetable
Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
s are uncommon, but small carrot
Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange or white, or red-white blend in colour, with a crisp texture when fresh. The edible part of a carrot is a taproot....
 strips might occasionally be added, primarily for color. A garnish of parsley
Parsley

Parsley is a bright green, biennial plant herb, also used as spice. It is very common in Middle Eastern cuisine, European cuisine, and American cuisine cooking....
 serves the same purpose. Bay leaves are also sometimes used as a garnish and flavoring. It is believed that clams were added to chowder because of their relative ease to collect.

Clam chowder is often served in restaurants on Fridays in order to provide a seafood option for those who abstain from meat during Lent
Lent

Lent, in Christianity, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. Conventionally it is described as being forty days long, though different Christian denominations calculate the forty days differently....
, which used to be a year-round requirement before liturgical changes in Vatican II. Though the period of strict abstinence from meat on Fridays was reduced to Lent
Lent

Lent, in Christianity, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. Conventionally it is described as being forty days long, though different Christian denominations calculate the forty days differently....
, the year-round tradition of serving Clam Chowder on Fridays remains.

New England Clam Chowder


New England
New England

New England is a region of the United States located in the northeastern corner of the country, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and New York State, and consisting of the modern U.S....
 clam chowder is a milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
 or cream based chowder, that is traditionally made with potatoes, onion, bacon or salt pork, flour or hardtack
Hardtack

Hardtack is a simple type of Cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it is and was used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns....
, and clams. Adding tomatoes to clam chowder was shunned, to the point that a 1939 bill making tomatoes in clam chowder illegal was introduced in the Maine
Maine

The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
 legislature. It is occasionally referred to as Boston Clam Chowder in the Midwest.

The traditional New England chowder is made by layering crackers such as Crown Pilot with the other ingredients .

Manhattan Clam Chowder


Manhattan
Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
 clam chowder has clear broth, plus tomato
Tomato

The Tomato is an herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins Nicotiana, potatoes, aubergine , chilli peppers, and the poisonous Atropa belladonna....
 for red color and flavor. In the 1890s, this chowder was called "New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 clam chowder" and "Fulton Fish Market
Fulton Fish Market

The Fulton Fish Market is a fish market in New York, United States. It was originally a wing of the Fulton Market, established in 1822 to sell a variety of foodstuffs and produce....
 clam chowder." The name "Manhattan clam chowder" became attached in the early 1900s from the people in Maine
Maine

The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
. Restaurants typically serve New England or Manhattan chowder, but not both. Clam chowder, in its cream-based New England version, has been around since the mid-18th century, and no mention of any Manhattan
Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
 chowder has been found that predates the 1930s. Many restaurants in northern Rhode Island sell both red and white chowders, while the southern coast favors clear and white chowders. Often they are served alongside clam cakes.

According to Good Eats
Good Eats

Good Eats is a television cooking show created and hosted by Alton Brown that airs in North America on Food Network. Likened to television science educators Mr....
, the addition of tomatoes in place of milk was initially the work of Portuguese
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
 immigrants in Rhode Island, as tomato-based stews were already a traditional part of Portuguese cuisine. Scornful New Englanders called this modified version "Manhattan-style" clam chowder because, in their view, calling someone a New Yorker was an insult
Insult

An insult is an expression, statement which is considered degrading. Insults may be intentional or accidental. An example of the wikt:latter is a well-intended simple explanation, which in fact is wikt:superfluous, but is given due to underestimating the intelligence or knowledge of the other....
.

Rhode Island Clam Chowder


Rhode Island
Rhode Island

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....
 clam chowder has clear broth. Though less popular than the other two, clear chowders are still served, especially at long-established New England restaurants and hotels, such as those on Block Island
Block Island

Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, and is separated from the mainland by Block Island Sound....
, and on the south coast of the state, where tourists favor white chowders while natives prefer the clear.

True Rhode Island clam chowder has a thin tomato broth base without tomato chunks unlike the Manhattan which does have clear broth and tomato chunks. This is the recipe served for decades with clamcakes at the memorable establishments like Rocky Point and Crescent Park.

Other Clam Chowder Variations


Some restaurants also serve their own unique clam chowders that do not fall into any of these three types. Clam chowder is usually served with saltine crackers or small, hexagonal oyster crackers
Oyster cracker (food)

Oyster crackers are small, salted, buttery cracker s, typically hexagons about 0.59 in in diameter, although a slightly larger circular variety is also prevalent....
. Throughout the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, creamy New England-style clam chowder is sometimes served in sourdough
Sourdough

Sourdough refers to the process of leavening agent bread by capturing wild yeasts in a dough or batter, as opposed to using a domestic, purpose-cultured yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae....
 bread bowl
Bread bowl

A bread bowl is a round loaf of bread which has had a large portion of the middle cut out to create an edible bowl . Bread bowls can be used to serve Chili con carne, New England-style clam chowder, and other thick stews ....
s, especially in San Francisco where sourdough is popular with tourists and has been considered a signature dish since 1849. In Seattle and Portland, OR Smoked Salmon is often added to New England Style Chowder instead of smoked pork.

Fish chowder is a similar to clam chowder except that shredded fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
, often cod
Cod

Cod is the common name for the genus of fish Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety of other fishes....
, is substituted for the clams. It is made with cream
Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
, fish, and often onions and/or corn
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
.

See also

  • Lobster
    Lobster

    Clawed lobsters compose a family of large marine crustaceans. Lobsters are economically important as seafood, forming the basis of a global industry that nets United States dollar1.8 billion in trade annually....
  • Fried clam


External links

  • Coney Island/Fulton Market/Manhattan Clam Chowder by food researcher Barry Popik
    Barry Popik

    Barry Popik is an American amateur etymologist, a rated chess master who has competed in more than a hundred countries, and an administrative law judge who has also run for political office in New York City....
    .


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