THE QUINTESSENTIAL QUAHOG GUIDE
RI-STYLE CLAM CHOWDER
NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER
Chowder HOUR
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN YOU CHOW DOWN
ON THE THREE MOST POPULAR CHOWDER TYPES IN THE NORTHEAST.
BY KAITLYN MURRAY
MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER
PHOTOGRAPHY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): COURTESY OF GEORGE’S
OF GALILEE; FLO’S CLAM SHACK/DISCOVER NEWEPORT; GETTY IMAGES.
New England Clam Chowder
Color: White
Broth: Milk- or cream-based,
rich and robust
Ingredients: Clams, potatoes,
onions and, depending on who
you ask, salt pork. Bonus:
crushed oyster crackers for
added thickness.
Origin: Although East Coast
Native Americans had been
longtime consumers of clams
and French fishing villages
were developing fish chowder
recipes as early as the
sixteenth century, the New
England chowder we know
and love today didn’t gain
major traction until its
addition to many Boston (and
later Maine) menus in the
early 1800s.
Fun Fact: This type is also
sometimes referred to as
Boston ‘Chowdah.’
RI-Style Clam Chowder
Color: Clear
Broth: Clam juice-based, thin
and light
Ingredients: Quahogs, bacon or
pork, onions, potatoes and
butter.
Origin: Little Rhody, of course.
More specifically, the roots of
clear chowder — said to be one
of the earliest forms of
chowder — can be traced back
to the state’s southern coast.
Fun Fact: There’s another
similar, lesser known Rhode
Island-born variation made
with a tomato broth base (but
no actual tomato bits like its
Manhattan peer).
For the Rhode
Island Clam
Chowder recipe
from George’s of
Galilee, see
page 107.
Manhattan Clam Chowder
Color: Red
Broth: Tomato paste-based with
chunks of tomatoes for good
measure
Ingredients: Clams and
tomatoes plus an array of
veggies like potatoes, onions,
peppers, celery, carrots and/
or garlic for added flavor.
Origin: Little Rhody, believe it
or not. Many sources attribute
its creation to Rhode Island’s
Portuguese fishing communities
who were known both for their
traditional tomato-based stews
and their frequent travels
to New York City’s Fulton Fish
Market during the mid-1800s.
Fun Fact: The people of Maine
were so outraged by the existence
of Manhattan chowder that in
1936 officials tried to outlaw the
usage of tomatoes in chowder
altogether. Alas, their efforts
proved unsuccessful.
FUN FACT
Quahogs are
excellent filter
feeders, meaning
they use their
two siphons to filter
water through their
shells and absorb
plankton, bacteria
and oxygen.
A quahog can filter
about twenty-five
gallons of water
a day.
48 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l AUGUST 2020