A brief history of clam chowder – and a recipe – as Boston Harbor opens to shellfishing

Growing and eating shellfish has long been a part of New England culinary traditions. Their evolution incorporated the practices of Native Americans and European settlers, as well as later regional preferences.

Consider clam chowder. In the coastal villages of France, a centuries-old tradition involves throwing a portion of a fisherman’s daily catch into a huge communal copper pot – the boiler – was later shortened to “chowder” as it made its way to Canada and up to New England. There he encountered abundant hard-shelled native clams, which were mixed with onions, potatoes and salt pork or bacon – a staple on European sailing ships. If dairy cows were available, milk, cream and butter were added.

But not all East Coast “chowders” like dairy mixed with their clams. Manhattan Clam Chowder is dairy-free and adds tomatoes. A Maine state representative found this so infuriating that he wrote a bill in 1939 to criminalize mixing tomatoes and clams in the same pot. Rhode Island and Connecticut Clam Chowder bans both tomatoes and dairy from the clear broth soup in those states. This fits with what some culinary historians argue was Indigenous people’s preferred practice of clam chowder, allowing the briny taste of quahogs to shine more intensely.

Jessica B. Harris shares the following recipe in “Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine” and notes: “The chowder is made with a fish broth base and tastes like the salty air that surrounds Aquinnah,” a town on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts that is the ancestral home of the Aquinnah Wampanoag.

Some New Englanders may be able to harvest their own clams for this recipe. Parts of Boston Harbor are clean enough for recreational shellfish fishing for the first time in a century. For those who don’t have easy access to fresh clams, canned clams will work just as well.

Clam chowder with clear broth

For 6 to 8 people
6 ounces salt pork, rinsed and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
2 cups chopped canned clams
1 ½ pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cups fish stock, store-bought or homemade
1 ½ cups bottled clam juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a Dutch oven, cook salt pork over medium heat, stirring regularly, until browned and crispy, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a small bowl.

2. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat from the pan. Add the onions and fennel seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Increase the heat to high. Add the clams and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the potatoes, fish stock, clam juice, 1 tablespoon dill, and reserved salt pork. Bring to a boil; Then, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Pour into bowls, garnish with remaining dill and serve with crackers.

Recipe adapted with permission from Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.