Clam Chowder

Clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and other kinds of shellfish were abundant along the east coast of North America and in the tidal estuaries there. In the early colonial era and for more than a century afterward, anyone could easily purchase them. Clam chowder is a dish that was either created by New Englanders in Massachusetts or Rhode Island or by fisherman in Nova Scotia, with the latter having the better case.

Because of the large number of Italian immigrants in the New York area, tomatoes were added to a clam broth, creating the Manhattan Clam Chowder style. Some people believe that even calling it chowder is close to heresy. The Manhattan version was described as a "quite terrible soup" by James Beard. Clam chowder comes in a variety of flavors and cooking methods, but all originate in North America.

The word "chowder" serves as the justification in favor of the Nova Scotian fishermen. It comes from the French word chaudière, which means cauldron. When French fishermen saw Native Americans eating clams and edible tubers cooked together in a pot, they replicated the practice and used other types of fish they had captured as well. After that, the soup was thickened with hardtack, or crushed ship's bread, which was so tough that it could hardly be eaten. During the westward movement, clam chowder in all of its varieties went across America and discovered a new ready supply of its primary ingredient near the Pacific coast.