Creamy white clam chowder in a bowl with visible potato chunks and clams, steam rising from the surface

Farmer's Clam Chowder (New England)

Name: Farmer's Clam Chowder (New England)
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1kg fresh clams (or 500g canned + 500ml juice); 100g salt pork or bacon, diced; 1 onion, chopped; 500g potatoes, cubed; 500ml milk; 300ml cream; 3 tbsp butter; 2 tbsp flour; Salt, pepper, oyster crackers to serve

From Boston Cooking-School Cook Book · Fannie Merritt Farmer · 1896

Verified from original source

The definitive New England-style clam chowder — creamy, thick with potatoes and salt pork.

History

New England clam chowder emerged in the 18th century among fishing communities along the northeastern Atlantic coast, particularly Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The term 'chowder' likely derives from French 'chaudière' (cauldron). Early versions featured salt pork, onions, potatoes, milk or cream, and local hard-shell clams. It was working-class fare, eaten by fishermen and farmers alike. Fannie Farmer's 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book codified the cream-based recipe, distinguishing it from Manhattan's tomato-based variant. Regional pride remains fierce; Massachusetts even proposed banning tomatoes from chowder in 1939. Today it's an iconic New England dish served in restaurants and homes.

Sources

Fannie Merritt Farmer, Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1896
Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, 1796
Lydia Maria Child, The American Frugal Housewife, 1829
Sandra L. Oliver, Saltwater Foodways: New Englanders and Their Food at Sea and Ashore, 1995
Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald, America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking, 2004
Andrew F. Smith, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2004

Serves

Prep

20m

Cook

30m

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

· 1kg fresh clams (or 500g canned + 500ml juice)
· 100g salt pork or bacon, diced
· 1 onion, chopped
· 500g potatoes, cubed
· 500ml milk
· 300ml cream
· 3 tbsp butter
· 2 tbsp flour
· Salt, pepper, oyster crackers to serve

Method

1
If using fresh clams, steam in 250ml water 5 min until open. Strain juice, keep. Chop clams.
2
Render salt pork in soup pot until crisp. Add onion, sweat 5 min.
3
Sprinkle in flour, cook 1 min.
4
Add potatoes and clam juice; simmer 12 min until potatoes tender.
5
Add milk and cream; warm gently — never boil.
6
Stir in clams and butter. Season. Rest 10 minutes for flavour to develop.
7
Serve with oyster crackers.

More by Fannie Merritt Farmer

Other Gilded Age USA recipes

Browse all 50 historical recipes →