New Englands Own: Clam Chowder

It's easy to imagine sailing aboard the Mayflower and feeding upon dried fish, cheese, hard tack and beer. Once ashore settlers would be eager to enjoy treasures of the sea such as soft-shell clams, quahogs and hard shelled Little Necks slurped raw and delicious. Soft-shelled clams, often referred to as "steamers" are the main ingredient in New England clam chowder. This is the base for true chowder. New Englanders refer to the "other" chowder" as a clam stew.

Always Fresh Clams in New England Clam Chowder

The reason clam chowder in New England is tastier than anywhere in the world is that clams are cooked as soon as they are harvested from the mighty Atlantic Ocean that pounds along New England shores. There are a lot of variations of the original New England Clam chowder except for one other ingredient: Milk. Milk produces the signature white color of this amazing soup. The "other" chowder has a vegetable base giving it a red hue.

A Minimum of Ingredients

The first settlers made do with whatever was grown locally for their meals. This is likely the reason "white" ingredients like potatoes and onions were added to chowders of freshly harvested clams. Today's recipes may call for the use of steamer clams or Little Necks as preferred. However, quahogs are larger and have also been used. It's important that clams are thoroughly scrubbed before adding them to the chowder base. Avoid clams with cracked shells or are slightly open. Do use the brine in which clams are boiled for the base of delicious New England chowder. Strain any sediment first.

Variations on a New England Chowder Theme

Today's New England chowder might be served with a drizzle of butter, dash of sour cream or creme fraiche or garnished with finely chopped parsley or chives.