Clam Chowder: America’s Favorite Seafood Soup

A chowder is a hearty seafood soup thickened with potatoes, milk, or cream. And among the many types of chowders, none stirs as much loyalty or comfort as clam chowder. The three most popular versions of it are New England, Manhattan, and Rhode Island, and each has its own lineage, carried forward from the early colonial kitchens that relied on the sea for sustenance.

When most people picture clam chowder, it’s the dairy-rich New England version: thick with milk or cream and potatoes, often served with a packet of oyster crackers on the side. Quahogs — the large hard-shell clams native to New England — anchor the flavor. Chopped and simmered until tender, they lend a briny punch that balances the richness, while bacon and onion add smoky sweetness.

By contrast, Manhattan clam chowder’s tomato base is a nod to the produce-rich markets of New York City’s immigrant kitchens. Here too, quahogs are the favored clam, though sometimes smaller cherrystones or littlenecks are added for their tenderness. Carrots, celery, and herbs round out its bright and tangy broth.

And then there’s Rhode Island clam chowder. Often made with quahogs, too, this style is the most elemental of the three. Clams are the star of the show in a clear, briny broth with potatoes and aromatics for support.

Chowder wars

Just when you thought we’d clam up, here are six more types of clam chowders to simmer over:

• Hatteras-Style Clam Chowder (North Carolina): clear broth, smoky bacon, tender potatoes and the clams are front and center.
• Pacific Northwest Chowder (Seattle, Portland, Oregon): smoked salmon (and sometimes oysters and crab) folded into a New England-style clam chowder base.
• Minorcan Clam Chowder (Florida): tomato-rich and fiery from local datil peppers, a St. Augustine signature pepper brought by 18th-century Spanish settlers from Minorca, part of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Long Island Clam Chowder (New York): a creamy-meets-tomato truce between New England and Manhattan.
• Jersey Shore Clam Chowder (New Jersey): tomato-based, loaded with vegetables like asparagus and fresh tomato, plus a little Old Bay seasoning.
• Connecticut Shore Clam Chowder (Connecticut): clear and briny, sometimes kissed with a splash of milk.

Other celebrated seafood soups and stews

While the three aforementioned regional clam chowders dominate seafood chowder conversations, bisque, cioppino, bouillabaisse, and brodetto bring tons of rich seafood flavor to the table.

In France, bisque is silky and shellfish-based, with lobster or crab shells simmered for depth and strained to a velvety finish. San Francisco’s cioppino, created by Italian immigrant fishermen, starts with tomatoes, garlic, and wine, then adds a mix of shellfish along with the day’s catch of firm white fish such as halibut, snapper, or bass. Provence’s bouillabaisse layers at least three kinds of Mediterranean rockfish — red mullet, sea bream, John Dory, or conger eel — and often includes mussels or crabs in a saffron- and fennel-scented broth, served with garlic and saffron aioli spread over toasted bread.

Other variations include Italy’s brodetto, a light coastal fish broth laden with three to 10 kinds of locally caught seafood and served over bread or polenta; Portugal’s caldeirada, where fish, shellfish, herbs, potatoes, and vegetables are layered in the pot and left to cook undisturbed, infusing the broth with flavor; and Brazil’s moqueca, whose Afro-Brazilian roots shine through its coconut milk and red palm oil base, lime- and cilantro-marinated fish, and bright, layered flavors.

Make chowder your own

Clam chowder’s white, red, or clear debate is part of its enduring charm, but it really is endlessly adaptable. Try these five different ways to create a delicious clam chowder.

• Add herbs: Fresh thyme, tarragon, or dill brighten the richness.
• Change the base: Swap cream for coconut milk for a lighter variation. Or add a splash of cream sherry toward the end of cooking for warm, nutty sweetness that doesn’t mask the briny clams.
• Spice it up: A pinch of smoked paprika, cayenne, or even curry powder adds depth.
• Add mix-ins: Corn kernels, fried cubed pork, fennel.
• Top creatively: Oyster crackers are classic, but try crispy pancetta, cheese, garlic croutons, or chive or chili oil.