# Clam Chowda! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287 "2011-02-05T16:14:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/41 "2011-02-08T01:03:38Z")
I can’t vote accurately in your poll. Northwestern clam chowder, to me, is white clam chowder with more smokey bacon than you get in New England-style white clam chowder. This is mostly based on familiarity with Ivar’s chowder. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/42 "2011-02-08T02:09:56Z")
> [@](#): > > But I urge everyone who has never tried it to seek out a good Rhode Island clam chowder. That is my favorite every time. I had Rhode Island once, and was surprised by it, since I had at that time known of the two chowders, but not three. It’s not bad, and I think I prefer it over Manhattan-style, but it’s still got nothing on the white stuff. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/43 "2011-02-09T03:45:33Z")
I very much dislike clam chowder. However, there’s a restaurant on Main Street in Hyannis MA that has NE style clam chowder that is so good, my boyfriend actually convinced me to try it and once I did, I ordered some to take home. ---
**Author:** ![NCDane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecccb3/32.png) [@NCDane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NCDane)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/44 "2011-02-09T05:17:44Z")
New England please, with a few potatos but no celery. Some things I prefer uncooked only and celery is one. I have never heard of Outer Banks style clear with bacon, and I have been to the OB a couple dozen times. Where exactly can it be found? Although I like bacon I would worry about it overpowering the delicate taste of the clams. BTW raw calms are delcious- good as raw oysters. PS- anything up to thick enough to walk on suits me! ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/45 "2011-02-10T05:51:03Z")
I’ve only had the New England - some links to recipes for the others would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/46 "2011-02-10T07:44:29Z")
Personally I’d rather have corn chowder. But if you want me to eat clam chowdah, it’s got to be the New England kind. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/47 "2011-02-10T14:18:10Z")
Oddly, while I lurves me some shrimp, scallops, lobster and crab, I don’t much care for clams, oysters or mussels. So I voted “I don’t like clam chowder”; however, if I _did_ like clams, I’m pretty sure I’d like the creamy kind, as I prefer cream of crab soup, lobster bisque and shrimp bisque to any of the non-creamy variations on the same. (Although once in a while, a good MD style crab soup is sublime!) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/48 "2011-02-10T15:33:52Z")
New England. Unquestionably. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/49 "2011-02-10T15:36:14Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I like all clam choders-except : DO NOT put celery in white clam chowder-it destroys the delicate taste of the clams. > For some reason, restaurants in California are prone to this grevious sin. Jasper White, a man who probably knows more about chowder than anyone else on the planet, puts celery in his New England clam chowder. Many other authorities on the subject agree with him. Celery in chowder isn’t unusual in the least. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/50 "2011-02-10T16:31:45Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > New England clam chowder is good as long as it isn’t too thick. A lot of restaurants seem to think “Thick good, thicker better” and serve what is basically clam gravy. > > But I urge everyone who has never tried it to seek out a good Rhode Island clam chowder. That is my favorite every time. Amen, that drives me nuts. It should be thick enough from the cream and potatoes, no need to add flour. Oh, and float a nice piece of butter on each serving so you a have a little melted, yellow pool, ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/51 "2011-02-10T17:40:43Z")
I make New England clam chowdah from a 100+ year-old recipe I found in old book on display in Strawberry Bank. Butter, cream, wild thyme, bay leaf, black pepper, onions. . . the onions are sauteed in bacon fat, but that’s as close as it gets to any pork. I do add potatoes, but they’re not in the recipe. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/52 "2011-02-10T17:52:34Z")
I voted classic New England white. I also have to add that whenver I hear someone say “Clam Chowda” like that, it reminds me of an old SNL skit from the early 90’s with Rob Morrow as the host. There was a sketch where Morrow played a guy at a diner w/ two friends and while they’re having a regular conversation, he is constantly behind with his comments and jokes… as in, they’ve moved on to another topic and all of a sudden he chimes in with some from whatever they’d been talkign about before. One of the topics was clam chowder (or maybe just Boston or New England in general) and after they’d moved on to talk about something else he exclaims “CLAM CHOWDAH!!!” Cracks me up everytime I think about it, which is anytime I hear it said that way. Anyone else remember this sketch? ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/53 "2011-02-10T23:15:58Z")
Isn’t Manhattan just tomato soup with clams in it? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/54 "2011-02-10T23:50:15Z")
Here’s my recipe, cut and pasted from a different thread; Here’s my chowder recipe. It’s a seafood chowder rather than straight clam. (1) Pound bacon (1) 51 ounce can clams (1) Pound raw shrimp (1) Pound scallops (4) 14 ounce cans chicken broth (2) Cups chopped onion (2) Cups chopped celery (2) Large turnips peeled and cut into small cubes (1) Quart heavy cream (1) Teaspoon dried thyme (1) Teaspoon Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a low carbohydrate viscosity modifier produced by fermentation. It’s a good thickener that can be used hot or cold, and doesn’t break down so can be added any time. Salt and Pepper to taste I start by cutting the pound of bacon into small pieces. It’s easier to do this if you leave it in the one piece it comes out of the package in. Once it’s diced, fry it and set it aside, reserving the grease. Sauté the onion and celery in some of the bacon grease until soft. Take the onions and celery off the heat and add the juice from the clams, the turnips, thyme, salt and pepper. Use a stick blender to blend the xanthan gum in with the chicken broth. I usually break it up into four portions and blend it into one can of broth at a time. The texture changes as you blend it. I usually blend around twenty seconds or so. After blending the gum in add the broth to the onion/celery/clam juice etc. mixture. Add your shrimp and scallops to the broth. I use large scallops quartered and small shrimp, but whatever you prefer, knock yourselves out. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the turnips are soft, 10 to 15 minutes or so at a low simmer. Remove from the heat and add the clams, the bacon, and the heavy cream. Reheat over low heat until hot and you’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/55 "2011-02-11T07:02:06Z")
It’s interesting that pretty much every Clam Chowder recipe I’ve managed to find has at least one “obscure” ingredient that no-one in any deli or grocers I’ve been to has ever heard of. 😛 I followed the one in the WikiBooks Cookbook (substituting bacon for “salt pork” and using crab meat in place of clams) and got something that was actually fairly decent out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/56 "2011-02-11T07:06:26Z")
If you’re counting clams as an “obscure ingredient” that needs to be substituted for, then it’s no surprise that all of the clam chowder recipes you’ve seen have an obscure ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/57 "2011-02-11T08:02:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If you’re counting clams as an “obscure ingredient” that needs to be substituted for, then it’s no surprise that all of the clam chowder recipes you’ve seen have an obscure ingredient. No, not Clams. It’s things like “Salt Pork” or “Xanthan Gum” or “Some Spice even the Indian lady at the Gourmet Spice Deli has never heard of”. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/58 "2011-02-11T11:01:04Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > No, not Clams. It’s things like “Salt Pork” or “Xanthan Gum” or “Some Spice even the Indian lady at the Gourmet Spice Deli has never heard of”. Xanthan gum is just a generic low-carb viscosity modifier (thickener). You could make a roux of butter and flour and use that instead. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/59 "2011-02-11T17:43:53Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > No, not Clams. It’s things like “Salt Pork” “Salt pork” is just salted pork belly. Basically, streaky bacon that hasn’t been smoked. Pancetta will actually work fine as a substitute (it’s basically the same thing, although pancetta usually has some spices thrown into the mix, and is often sold rolled). Regular smoked bacon is commonly used in clam chowder–in fact, I would say the majority of (New England-style) clam chowders I’ve had have been made with bacon. I think the salt pork works more nicely with the delicate flavor of the clams, but either way is fine. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287/60 "2011-02-11T17:59:35Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > “Some Spice even the Indian lady at the Gourmet Spice Deli has never heard of”. I’m wondering what kind of clam chowder recipes you’re digging up. There usually isn’t anything more exotic than salt or pepper as far as spices go. (Xanthan gum is an unusual ingredient in most home kitchens, but it’s used as a thickener for the Atkins/low-carb crowd, from what I gather. I’ve personally never seen it in any recipes before–just as an ingredient in prepared foods.) If you can find the clams or mussels or whatever bivalve is common in your neck of the woods, you should easily be able to sort out a chowder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clam-chowda/570287.md?page=4)