Say chowÂder out loud: chowÂder. The word sounds like food. Not an appeÂtizÂer either. An entree in a small crock topped with broÂken crackÂers.
As with so many things relatÂed to food, chowÂder is a stoÂried dish. It hails from New EngÂland and northÂeastÂern CanaÂda, its first writÂten refÂerÂence datÂing back to 1732 when a jourÂnalÂist recalls dinÂing on a “fine chowÂdered cod.”
There are as many types of chowÂder as there are soup, though a true chowÂder is more like a stew than a soup. Some purists would rather eat slugs than a chowÂder with tomaÂtoes in it or whose name refÂerÂences New York. But all chowÂders must feaÂture the folÂlowÂing: broth, salt pork, bisÂcuit and seafood.
Aside from that, all bets are off. Chow down.
Of course a regionÂal dish with this long a hisÂtoÂry and which leaves this much room for interÂpreÂtaÂtion deserves a hisÂtoÂry of its own, and so the good peoÂple at the UniÂverÂsiÂty of MassÂaÂchuÂsetts, Amherst creÂatÂed the New EngÂland ChowÂder ComÂpendiÂum, a colÂlecÂtion of recipes and ephemera explorÂing how chowÂder rose to become a staÂple of New EngÂland cookÂery.
Culled from cookÂbooks held by the university’s BeatÂrice McInÂtosh CookÂery ColÂlecÂtion, the comÂpendiÂum chronÂiÂcles chowÂder recipes from the 1700s to the 1970s, through lean times and fat, through recipes heavy with cream and withÂout.
And so, as readÂers click through feaÂtured chowÂder recipes from the 1920s on through to the 1940s, they’re sure to notice the ways ingreÂdiÂents vary. Use evapÂoÂratÂed milk and a litÂtle water, if cream is not availÂable. HouseÂwives were wise in the 1940s to be thrifty while makÂing fresh stock from knuckÂles: Save that fat that rose to the top and sell it to your meat dealÂer.
ChowÂder may be one of the poster food for peoÂple who are makÂing do. Don’t have fresh seafood? Canned tuna will do. Lima beans soaked overnight can subÂstiÂtute for clams.
As with most handÂwritÂten recipes, the handÂwritÂing and illusÂtraÂtions are part of the fun. One radÂiÂcal sugÂgests adding a dash of papriÂka. This recipe, for the Kingston Yacht Club, may have fed the entire memÂberÂship (three galÂlons of clams?!)
The archivists include a nice primer, tracÂing the develÂopÂment of chowÂder (the word comes from French for “caulÂdron”).
One recipe that doesn’t sound so good: diet chowÂder from the 1970s.
Kate Rix writes about digÂiÂtal media and eduÂcaÂtion. Read more of her work at and at thenifty.blogspot.com.